when God gives us success
Lately I've been thinking a lot about the people in the Bible and how they reacted to their success. Right now I'm on 2 Chronicles15 and Act 22. This note might not make sense... but I keep reading about these wonderful people in the Bible and how they start out really close to God. They seem to be on fire for the Lord, but after they get success their hearts change. Why is that? I just read about Rehoboam and 2Chronicles 12:1 says, "But when Rehoboam was firmly established and strong, he abandoned the Law of the Lord, and all Israel followed him in this sin." Even Solomon's heart was turned away because he had so many foreign wives and concubines. He was successful too.
A part of me feels like, if these people went astray and God showed Himself to them through raining down fire on the burnt offerings, lighting up the Thumim, and showing His Glorious Presence in the Ark of the Covenant then surely I'm bound to go astray.
I mean, it seems like success makes people crazy. Solomon was wise, rich, and famous...not bad, right? But he still went and messed with the women that God told him not to have. Why do we do stuff like this? I keep asking myself this...and I know the easy answer is "we're human" or "we all sin and fall short of God's glory" which is so true, but are we not thinking? When God gives us success and truly the only REAL success in life is knowing Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, but when God gives us success why don't we cling to him more?
I'm going to share a personal story (this may not make sense in comparison to Rehoboam and Solomon, but in my mind it does) This happened to me today. For the past two weeks I've been waiting on a wire transfer from my job. 2 weeks! I kept praying for the finances to be there. I was really starting to become discouraged because I thought, "Why is this happening to me?" But God spared me from acting insane because I didn't have any money. So, I waited surprisingly patiently this week. This morning I checked my account and finally the money was there. I was really blessed, and I got down on my knees to pray and thank God. The weird thing is, after I prayed I was almost instantly in a bad mood. I started thinking about how I felt mistreated for not getting my check sooner. I felt that it was wrong of the company to make me wait so long when I had finished my job with them over 3 weeks ago. Anyway, I got ready to go about my day...I got in my car and drove (I live in Los Angeles) to the bank to get some cash. After I got my cash, at least 3 people on the road acted wildly insane with me like, cutting me off, giving me the finger, etc. and it was like I snapped. I was filled with so much road rage and anger that you would've never thought I was the same person who prayed just 30 minutes ago saying "Thank you Lord for letting the finances come today." I was like a different person. And to top it off, I looked up into the sky right after I had this outburst in my car and I knew I was wrong. The sky was really bright. I mumbled to myself, "I didn't have to act that way." But I was filled with so much anger and stubbornness that I couldn't actually ask God to forgive me for that fit of rage. I had an hour and a half drive ahead of me...it wasn't until I was about 30minutes into my drive that I turned off my music and was able to humble myself and ask God to forgive me for how I acted towards those people. The Lord gave me success today. He allowed the money to be in my account, He let me wake up healthy and have a nice conversation with my Mom this morning, good grief, I even got my hair done in a new style for a great price! I had all of that today and I treated those people like that. I realize that when I act like that I'm not showing Jesus to anyone. That's sad, because I know better. I just didn't care...my flesh and ego was in the way.
Is that the same as Rehoboam? Solomon? God gave me victory today and I responded with anger. I hope I'm sincere before the Lord. I hope my heart doesn't change...because I need Him. I get so scared when I think about not having the Lord in my life. I want Him to continue to bless me, and I want to be a blessing to others...the way I acted today was not a blessing to anyone. I know the Lord has forgiven me for that, but I still feel bad for doing it.
When God gives us success how do we respond?
Created 2 months ago
