Watch out when God blesses you!
With success and achievement come pride and temptation.
August 2
But Hezekiah did not repay according to the favor shown him, for his heart was lifted up; therefore wrath was looming over him and over Judah and Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 32:25
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Watch out when God blesses you!
Hezekiah, the king of Israel, had become deathly ill. Isaiah the prophet comes and with great bedside manner tells Isaiah that he needs to get his stuff in order because he is about to die. Hezekiah wasn’t happy about that prognosis and so he went to God in prayer and asked God to heal Him. God responds to Hezekiah and heals him and adds another fifteen years to his life. To prove to Hezekiah God is going to keep His promise God causes the shadow on the sundial to move backward ‘ten steps’.
Then something terrible happened; God begins to prosper Hezekiah greatly. We might think that is a good thing but in fact it turns out to be Hezekiah’s downfall. God blessed King Hezekiah with great abundance and then Hezekiah allowed that abundance to influence him. Hezekiah became filled with pride. This is seen in the way that Hezekiah showed the envoys from Babylon all his stuff. Even after Isaiah came and tried to correct him, Hezekiah’s response was selfish and prideful.
In our text we are told that Hezekiah did not respond appropriately. God had shown Hezekiah great kindness by sparing his life and by blessing him greatly. We must be very careful also about the blessings of God. Everything that the Lord gives us whether good or bad (in our eyes) should cause us to respond to God in worship and adoration.
Often that is easier when the things God is allowing to happen in our lives are bad. It is easy for us to depend upon Him and seek His face and wisdom. But when things start going well, we will sometimes forget that it is God who has provided these good things and claim some of His glory as our own. That is a very dangerous place to be.
Some people will be blessed tremendously in their families, ministries, or churches. They may need your prayers and encouragement more than those who are experiencing trials and difficulties. With success and achievement come pride and temptation. If God is blessing your life, family, ministry, or church your response should be to praise God for those blessings. With your next breath you should be crying out to God for His protection from your own sinful nature and asking for His help to keep your heart humble.
God wants to bless us, our families, and our ministries and churches. He will do that only as long as we respond appropriately to His blessings. With appropriate responses God’s blessings and protection continue. Jesus, help us to never lose sight of the fact that absolutely everything that we have come from you and teach us to respond appropriately.
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