Not all addictions are bad....

Have any of you ever had an addiction? Well I have an addiction that I hope I never ever break free of. I am addicted to Gods word big time and can not seem to get enough of it! I get this thrilling feeling from the top of my head to the very bottom of my toes every time I delve into His Holy Word! I just keep asking Him for more and more and more! And you know what? He keeps on giving me more, more more! I am on this incredible journey through Isaiah right now and if you haven't taken the time to really read that book from the beginning to the end....I implore you to stop right now and do so! And if you don't understand it or don't get it than read it again and again and again each time asking God for understanding and wisdom. How anyone on the face of this earth could read that book and not believe that Jesus is the true one and only son of God is truly beyond me! I mean come on...the detail in which the prophecy of Jesus coming and Jesus as the son of God simply gives me goose bumps all over my body!

Do you remember the story of King Uzziah? If you don't then read up on him and look at his down fall...he was one of the first kings that ruled in Isaiah's day. OK ~ I will fling you all forward and tell you what his down fall was...PRIDE! Wow...a great king taken down by his own Pride. Lets take a look at a few important things here regarding Uzziah;

* His pride led to his down fall ~Pride!
* He became angry when corrected ~ Pride!
* He was unfaithful to the Lord ~ Pride ~ Pride ~ Pride!

He was the most powerful man in the southern Kingdom. The only other authority withheld from him was the authority given to the priests of God! Just picture the scene here in your minds with me. We have no idea what possessed Uzziah to suddenly grasp such a sacred task, of entering that temple, but we certainly can assume he knew better. According to verse 5 of chapter 26 of 2 Chronicles ~ Zechariah instructed him in the fear of God. We can also assume that power motivated him far more than worship..hmmm You ever notice how power and pride can go hand in hand?

Read 2 Chronicles 26:1-15 and answer these questions:

Why do you think God hates Pride so much?

How can we avoid falling into the temptation of Pride?


Pride deceives us all into thinking we know more than we really do, including God. Not Good, just not good at all to think our ways are better than Gods and not good to think we have a better plan and not good to think we can cross lines with God...king or not... just not good. Uzziah didn't offend the Priest....he offended God. oops! Uzziah new better than to enter that temple, he knew the rules and was warned but his pride took him to a place that would end his life in not only isolation but tied down physically with leprosy. What a shame to have a great man of God, a excellent King and a great provider go down in history as the king who died of leprosy because of his pride. Yet how like our human natures, both in our tendency towards pride when we are blessed with success and in our tendency to judge someones entire life by a brief season of failure. Pride in itself holds us all as slaves in bondage. We can certainly see that so clearly in the life of King Uzziah, yet have a hard time seeing it with in ourselves, so go easy on the King here. You know what the truly sad thing was? He wouldn't listen to the 81 priests because you see..Uzziah had the power and it was working for the kingdom. Amazing huh? Pride! How many have come to us to help us see the wrong paths we are on? How many times and how many people does God need to send our way? 81 priests stood up to the king and tried to redirect him out of that temple but he would not listen to them. Well he sure took notice when the leprosy broke out onto his face in front of them all. As I read the part where it says, indeed he himself was eager to leave...Yes, I bet he was. The rest of the story was not amusing at all. In fact, our prideful sides could probably stand a few moments of sobering meditation on 2 Chronicles 26:21-23.

God's hatred of pride doesn't mean He wants us to feel bad about ourselves. In fact, putting ourselves down represents another form of pride. Pride takes God off the throne and puts ourselves in the center of the universe. God hates pride inside of each and every single one of us. He hates it because it slights Him and destroys us. He hates pride because He loves us.

2 Chronicles 26:5,15 hints that Uzziah also might have allowed the obstacles of prayerlessness to come between himself and God. Ever think of Prayerlessness as a sin God hates? Our prayerlessness tells God we are full of pride and that we really don't need to lean on him nor do we trust Him to take care of the daily problems that come our way. We often times pridefully intervene and try and fix everyone else's situations around us too. When we don't pray about things and charge in to save the day...we have just crossed the very same line Uzziah crossed.... a huge line God has drawn for each and everyone of us...we are not to cross it. Yet I read these stories and say how could they have been so full of Pride! gulp!

So my sweet sisters...open the holy book and take a good look... don't just read and memorize it! Live it and apply it to your daily lives. So many of us are reading yet we think it applies to everyone around us except us. A dear brother in the Lord years ago told me that God's word will keep us all away from sin...or... Sin will keep us away from God's word.

I encourage you all to share in with me of my addiction for Gods word. Thy word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against thee! Until we are totally connected and pressed against Gods Holy word and in constant prayer daily...we will never see ourselves as Uzziah, until it is to late.


Blessings on you all!