Never allow greatness to turn you from His goodness

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

When things are going great it’s easy to lose sight of what is good.

“But Hezekiah’s heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the LORD’s wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem.” 2 Chronicles 32:25

Hezekiah had been so faithful to God for the majority of his reign. When things were hard and Assyria was ready to take over Judah and Jerusalem, Hezekiah kept his eyes, heart, and mind focused on God and His promises. Yet after God annihilated Assyria and allowed King Hezekiah to prosper, pride invaded their hearts and all humility was lost. As the lives of the Jews flourished, they lost sight of what was good.

So what does God call good?

• To Act Justly – seek to be fair and honest, living by the truth of God, even if others aren’t
• To Love Mercy – give in to others even when others don’t deserve it
• Walk Humbly with the Lord – treat others, especially God, as more important than themselves, with compassion and gratitude

Quickly, Hezekiah, Judah, and Jerusalem realized their sin of pride and repented, and God’s wrath left them, but not before it first caused some harm.

Sadly, pride is the downfall of many, and it so easily sneaks into our lives.

When things get tough we seek God more fervently, but when calmness, peace, or fruitfulness come, we can begin to forget where all of these gifts come from. We tend to forget our need for God and only see it all as our own strength and doing. At this point we lose sight of what is good and only see why we’re “great”.

To truly seek goodness, we have to walk humbly with God. That walk is a daily walk, always remembering the only way we can make it through each hour is to live fully in submission to Him. This is a turning from our selfishness and pride and a turning to His Truth found only in His Word. Never thinking more of ourselves and less of God, but less ON ourselves and more ON the God of the Heavens, realizing He is the only reason we are able to do what we do every day.