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31 Days :: Day 17 – The Slow Fade of Me-Ism

This Morning:

  • At this moment in our study, I’m recognizing a need to be broken. I’ve asked God to break me this week. Will you join me? Ask Him to show you where your heart and mind need to be broken of yourself and put back together in His way.
  • Journal about whatever comes to mind. Whatever you want to remember as we start this “too big” week.
Devotion: The Slow Fade of Me-Ism

We’ve all been there. Spiritual high. Got right with God. Sure we’re gonna stay focused on Him this time. God starts to work through us and… we slowly forget.

One of the clearest passages God has given us about how pride can ruin what He wants to do in our lives is found in 2 Chronicles 26:

And all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. He built Eloth and restored it to Judah, after the king slept with his fathers. Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper. He went out and made war against the Philistines and broke through the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod, and he built cities in the territory of Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines. God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabians who lived in Gurbaal and against the Meunites. The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread even to the border of Egypt, for he became very strong. Moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate and at the Valley Gate and at the Angle, and fortified them. And he built towers in the wilderness and cut out many cisterns, for he had large herds, both in the Shephelah and in the plain, and he had farmers and vinedressers in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil. Moreover, Uzziah had an army of soldiers, fit for war, in divisions according to the numbers in the muster made by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah the officer, under the direction of Hananiah, one of the king’s commanders. The whole number of the heads of fathers’ houses of mighty men of valor was 2,600. Under their command was an army of 307,500, who could make war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. And Uzziah prepared for all the army shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and stones for slinging. In Jerusalem he made engines, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and great stones. And his fame spread far, for he was marvelously helped, till he was strong.

But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the LORD his God and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. But Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty priests of the LORD who were men of valor, and they withstood King Uzziah and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the LORD God.” Then Uzziah was angry. Now he had a censer in his hand to burn incense, and when he became angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priests in the house of the LORD, by the altar of incense. And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead! And they rushed him out quickly, and he himself hurried to go out, because the LORD had struck him. And King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death, and being a leper lived in a separate house, for he was excluded from the house of the LORD.

King Uzziah started out humble. Grateful. Thankful that God had chosen to do something great through him. Then he slowly started believing he was doing it himself. It was an unconscious fade. One that took control of him and ruled in his heart until it was finally too late. “But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction.” And God struck him and he was forever excluded from God’s house. How sad.

Uzziah got to a point where he believed he was ENTITLED to burn incense. Didn’t matter that he wasn’t a priest. He was God’s chosen. Surely God wanted him to have this RIGHT. But when he was stopped, he became ANGRY. And BITTER. And since he wasn’t allowed to burn incense, but the sons of Aaron were, I’m sure there was some JEALOUSY in there, too. We are going to talk about all of these poisons this week.

Our thoughts become so consumed with day-to-day life that we don’t even recognize these issues as they sneak into our unsuspecting minds… A little anger about this. A twinge of sadness about something that we wanted but someone else got. Or even compliments given because of something God is doing that start to make us feel good. Slow fade. You know the song.

Today, I’m asking you to consider your own heart. Where are you? Have you just been broken and you are starting out focused on and following God? Are you in the middle of a slow fade of me-ism? Have you been knocked down to the bottom because of your pride? Friend, wherever you are today, God wants to pick you up and mold you into something new. He just asks that we recognize and receive that it’s not about us. It’s all about Him.

To Make You Think:

  1. What “too big” areas do you see that you struggle with? Pride? Anger? Bitterness? Jealousy? Entitlement? Other?
  2. Where are you? Just starting out fresh for God? In the middle of the slow fade? At the bottom?
  3. Do you believe God can take your struggles and turn them around?
The Rest of the Day:
  • Again, ask God to break you of your “too big” thinking. Ask Him to show you what may be hidden in your heart that you haven’t even seen yet.
  • Journal about what God shows you. Write down all of the areas where you are asking Him to break you this week.
See you tomorrow!

Continuing on…  31 Days :: Day 18 – Smashing the Soapboxes

 

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