He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Amaziah had done. He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the LORD, God gave him success (2Ch 26:4,5).
The Scripture reference above summarizes the most important aspect of king Uzziah’s life that made the difference between prosperity and poverty, success and failure, fulfilment and frustration for him. What this Scriptural text reveals to us today is the underlying principle of pleasing God and thereby becoming all He wants us to be. Uzziah’s success was neither magical nor accidental, but the inevitable result of a deliberate choice. Similarly, our success in life will be determined by our choices.
The preceding verses of Scripture, reveal that Uzziah was a young boy on whom the responsibility of kingship over Israel devolved. The succession order to kingship in his native culture left him no choice of acceptance or rejection of the honour. The question was not whether he would be the next king or not. If we look carefully and closely at that situation in Uzziah’s life, we will observe a parallel with our lives. There are choices that were made for us, even before we were born. No one sought our opinion on those issues. For instance, you did not choose your gender or nationality or even your parents. Nonetheless, our fulfilment and fruitfulness in life do not necessarily depend on such things. Whether Uzziah would be successful or not did not hinge on those choices that were made on his behalf, in which he had no say.
We may not be responsible for how we got where we are. We may also not be responsible for the things that have happened to us. In spite of all that, like Uzziah, we have a choice as to what to do right now where we are, about what happened to us. However, God has not simply left us to our own devices on this matter, but has graciously provided us with an option : we can handle life and its challenges His way. The invitation is clear: ” ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ “(Jer 33:3). Or we can do it our own way, the outcome of which the Bible expresses the following words: “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” (Prov 14:12). Uzziah had the option of either running his kingdom God’s way or another way. Thank God he chose the former. The Bible says, “He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD…” (2Ch 26:4). That choice must have meant overlooking or rejecting several other opinions, including his own.
The Bible clearly says, “He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD…” (2Ch 26:4). Like him, we are and will always be faced with deferring opinions as to what is right, from people, ranging from our immediate family and friends to extended family members, neighbours and acquaintances. They may be well-intentioned in their views, but nonetheless opposed to God. The voice of the people is not necessarily always the voice of God. The Bible says, “You shall not follow a crowd to do evil…”. (Ex 23:2). God’s will was Uzziah’s command. Therefore, he was able to wisely discern what was right in the eyes of the LORD. If we truly choose to do God’s will, He will ensure we discover it. Jesus said, “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.” (Jn 7:17). He who will be truly successful must choose God’s will above all else. This is the first lesson we learn from the Biblical text above, regarding Uzziah. Shalom.
