SPIRITUAL DRIFTING - A PROBLEM WE ALL MUST ADDRESS!

I just finished reading the account of Judah’s King Uzziah in II Chronicles 26. He became king at the age of sixteen. He was mentored by his pastor and teacher Zechariah to live in reverent obedience before God. As long as Zechariah lived, Uzziah lived a godly life.  “And God prospered him” [v.5].   [All quotes from The Message Bible unless otherwise noted.]

He led a fight against the Philistines and won. He built new settlements in the Philistine areas. Out of fear, the Ammonites also paid enormous annual tribute to Judah. “…his reputation extended all the way to Egypt” [v.8].

“Uzziah constructed defense towers in Jerusalem. [and] cisterns out in the country. He had herds of cattle down in the foothills and out on the plains, had farmers and vinedressers at work in the hills and fields – he loved growing things” [vs.9-10].

“Uzziah had a well-prepared army ready to fight…307,000 with 500 of them on constant alert – a strong royal defense against any attack. [They were] well armed with shields, spears, helmets, armor, bows, and slingshots. He also installed the latest in military technology on the towers and corners of Jerusalem for shooting arrows and hurling stones” [11-14].

“But then the strength and success went to his head” [v.16].

“…he walked into The Temple of GOD like he owned it and took over, burning incense on the Incense Altar. The priest Azariah, backed up by eighty priests of GOD, tried to prevent him…But Uzziah, censor in hand, was already in the middle of doing it and angrily rebuffed the priests” [vs.17-18].

“He lost his temper; angry words were exchanged – and then, even as they quarrelled, a skin disease appeared on his forehead. As soon as they saw it, the chief priest Azariah and the other priests got him out of there as fast as they could. He hurried out – he knew that GOD then and there had given him the disease. Uzziah had his skin disease for the rest of his life and had to live in quarantine” [vs.19-21].

When he died he was not buried with the other kings because of his skin disease.

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“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” [NIV].

Apparently, after his mentor – Zechariah – died, Uzziah lost his anchor.

Uzziah is described earlier as having “…behaved well in the eyes of the GOD…”, but then his accomplishments – which were significant – went to his head and he lost track of God!

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A year ago I shared the following as a FB post. It ties in well with today’s blog.

Leo Tolstoi [1828 - 1910] was a Russian writer - regarded as one of the greatest and most influential writers of all time! The following is one of his fables:

"It was as if I had suddenly found myself sitting in a boat which had been pushed off from an unknown shore, as if I had been shown the direction of the opposite shore, and given a pair of oars and left alone. I ply the oars, I row ahead; but the further I go, the stronger the current becomes carrying me out of my course.

I meet other people afloat, also carried away by the current; some have thrown their oars away, a few are struggling against the stream, but most of them glide with it.

The further I go, the more I watch the long line of boats floating down the current, and I forget about the course pointed out to me as my own. From every side cheery voices shout to me that there can be no other direction. I believe them; as men drift down the stream or glide with the current, I let myself drift along with them, until at last I hear the roar of the rapids. Already I can see their boats broken up, and I know I myself must perish.

Then I come to myself.

Before me I can see nothing but destruction; I am hurrying fast towards it. What must I do?

Looking back, I notice a number of boats now struggling to make headway against the current; and then I remember all about the opposite shore, the course, and the oars. I begin at once to row hard upstream to reach the opposite side.

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The shore is God;

the current is tradition;

the oars are free will,

given that I may gain union with God.

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Kind and Gracious God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

Drifting is easy and comes natural to us.

It is the path of least resistance!

Yet, it's destination is not determined by Your will!

We must be wise enough to discern Your will and way.

We must be convinced enough to know that You and You alone are Truth!

We must be dogged in following Your Truth - even if there be few who find it!

We must persistently resist the temptation to just go along with the crowd!

We must stay focused on Your will and Your way!

And by doing so - we will gain eternal life on Your shores!

If, by chance, we've been drifting - WAKEN US TO YOUR CALL TO A DISTANT SHORE and enable us to paddle hard to achieve Your eternal joy!

AMEN!