God Gets The Credit

Have you ever made a mistake or done something wrong? If you pray, God may have mercy and help you. What if you don’t acknowledge that help and maybe even deny that you had help? Surely, God would not help you next time. Not our God. If we repent, God may stop his anger or even bless us.

In the bible, Hezekiah was very sick and dying. He prayed, and God answered him with a miraculous sign. Hezakiah must have been thrilled to get his life back! He must have fallen down on his knees and thanked God for being so good. Umm, no that didn’t happen. His heart was proud, and he did not respond to the kindness shown to him by God. Pride is a complex topic. Pride can bring you low. You can lose everything. When you are humble, grateful and thankful, you will retain honor and dignity.

A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.
–Proverbs 29:23 (NKJV)

The Lord was not happy with Hezekiah. God’s wrath was on Hezekiah, Judah and Jerusalem, Even though Hezekiah, wasn’t gracious and thankful when God gave his life back, he did realize his mistake. He went to the Lord and repented, as did the people of Jerusalem. The Lord listened to him and did not punish him or the people of Jerusalem. We have a loving, generous God. Our God loves us and wants to bless us.

Hezekiah’s Pride, Success and Death
In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the Lord, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign. 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. Then Hezekiah repented of the pride of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore the Lord’s wrath did not come on them during the days of Hezekiah.
–2 Chronicles 32:24-26 (NIV)

Even though he made mistakes, God forgave Hezekiah and then blessed him. He had some remarkable accomplishments. Even after making mistakes, God blessed him so much that he “succeeded in everything he undertook.” God doesn’t want us to be perfect. God wants us to come back to him, when we make mistakes. God wants us to choose him with our whole heart. After all the success, God let Hezekiah be tested. “God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart.” God wants our hearts. God wants to know everything inside our heart. When God isn’t protecting us and blessing us, what do we do? When God lifts his mighty hand of protection, we feel it. The troubles of this world can crash in on us. Our hearts have to be so focused on God, that the world cannot touch us, even if God removes his hand of protection.

It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Gihon spring and channeled the water down to the west side of the City of David. He succeeded in everything he undertook. But when envoys were sent by the rulers of Babylon to ask him about the miraculous sign that had occurred in the land, God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart.
–2 Chronicles 32:30-31 (NIV)

We need to humble ourselves to the Lord. Instead of taking credit for every success, thank God. I love when I see a big sports game, and the most valuable player thanks God. I love that humbleness. God gets the credit. God made each of us and gave us gifts and talents. Everything that we have is from God. We honor God by making the most of our talents. Studying. Practicing. Putting in the work. When it comes to that big moment, when we win the game, will we give God all the glory?