REMOVAL CAN LEAD TO REVIVAL -- Devotional for November 4, from "Good Seeds"

In the year King Uzziah died I saw the Lord, sitting on a throne, high and lifted up. (Isaiah 6:1)

Removal Can Lead to Revival
II Chronicles 26 tells the story of King Uzziah, one of the righteous Kings of Judah. The people of God were blessed to be ruled and protected by a good and great king. He was a GOOD KING: his goodness was rooted in his godliness. “He sought the Lord and did right in His sight” (vss. 4-5) for most of his fifty-two year reign. And he was a GREAT KING: his greatness was manifested in his Midas Touch, for he didn’t just succeed, but excelled, in everything he attempted. First, he was a military genius, gaining victory over his enemies and protecting his borders and cities through the development of an army superior in men, morale, and innovative armaments. Second, he was a man of the people, with domestic policies bringing peace and prosperity to the land. And third, he was a man of the land, for verse 10 says, “He loved the soil.” It seems he had that rare ability to encourage both the commercial ventures of urban industry, and the agrarian achievements of heartland farmers. But there was a chink in his armor – a flaw in his character – that proved to be his undoing. It was pride. (Why is it so often thus with good and great men?) Verses 16-21 record his downfall, when he usurped the ministry of the priests (Was this just one more thing to excel in?) This earned God’s anger and swift judgment: he was stricken with leprosy, requiring him to step down from leadership and turn everything over to his son. What a tragic end to a glorious life! Now, enter young Isaiah, faithfully functioning in his prophetic role, and yet very possibly more passionate about his earthly king than his Heavenly one, and very surely caught up in “Uzziah hero worship” right along with the rest of the crowd. But then, suddenly, this bigger-than-life hero fell from grace, was ostracized from service...and now he was dead! Isaiah was shocked and shaken to the core. Could we blame him if he joined his countrymen in thinking, “I’m never going to trust a God-follower again! Look what his religion got him – and look where it has left me!” This sounds very much like the negative reaction many people have today when they witness the moral downfall of one they had looked up to as a spiritual giant and personal role model. But Isaiah’s response to this tragedy took a positive turn, which we would do well to emulate: he realized his human hero had been blocking his view of God. When a hero fails that view can be permanently tarnished…but not if we allow disappointment in man serve as an appointment with God! My hero’s failures could work better than his strengths in drawing me to God! Indeed, the removal of my hero could lead to a revival in my heart!