- Dr. Paul Dhinakaran
God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
(1 Peter 5:5)
We cry out to God during the times of need or when we are pushed to such a situation where human help fails. And the Lord shows us His compassion and delivers us from our trouble. But after receiving God’s help we become elated with pride and forget Him completely. We become ungrateful. Similarly, Hezekiah also became haughty and forgetful of God.
"And many brought...presents to Hezekiah, King of Judah so that he exalted in the sight of all nations thereafter." (2 Chronicles 32:23)
King Hezekiah humbled himself before God when all his enemies surrounded him. He had no chance of victory in that battle. He cried, "Lord, Do help me this time." The Lord had compassion on him. He sent His angel and destroyed all his enemies. He granted him a resounding victory. The fame of King Hezekiah spread in all directions. This made him puffed up with pride. (2 Chronicles 32:25, 26)
When King Hezekiah lay sick at the death's door, the Lord had compassion on him and healed him. He added fifteen years to his span of life. Even then he was not faithful to God. Though the Lord had performed so many miracles in his life, he still remained proud. As a result of his haughtiness, God set Himself against him. The Bible says: "God resists the proud" (1 Peter 5:5).
The Lord set Himself against Hezekiah. God's wrath descended on Hezekiah. But once again he humbled himself before God saying, "Lord, Be merciful upon me. I will declare to the people all the favors that You have showed me. I will give glory to You alone hereafter. It is by Your grace that I live in this world. It is by Your grace that I am saved from my enemies. By Your grace I was restored to health. It is because of Your grace that people honor and praise me."
The blessings of God descended again upon Hezekiah. He became fabulously rich. He made himself treasuries to hoard his gold and silver, storehouses for his corn, grain and stalls for his livestock. The Lord exalted him in all respects. (2 Chronicles 32:27 - 30)
So many times, the Lord shows us mercy and comes to our aid when we have failed or succumbed to some severe illness. He comforts us in our anguish and blesses us abundantly. But often we fail to be grateful. When you acknowledge that it was His grace which granted you all the blessings, and humble yourselves all the time before God then He will surely grant you long life, riches and honor.
My dear Friend! Humble yourself before God everyday. He will exalt you before everyone in every way. You will rejoice and be blessed from today and always.
Prayer:
Dear Loving Father,
I thank You for the blessings You have given me. Let not pride enter my heart and help me to stay humble before You always. Lord, let my life be pleasing to You. Help me to recount all the blessings with thanksgiving and praises. In Jesus' name I pray.
Amen.
