“And he [Uzziah] did what was correct in the eyes of the Lord as everything his father Amaziah had done. And he sought after God in the days of Zechariah, the one who instructed him in the fear of the Lord. And in the days that he sought after the Lord, God caused him to succeed.”

— 2 Chronicles 26:4-5

Success is of the Lord. The Bible teaches us that promotion is from above. Now this is very contrary to the attitudes of people today who think they can force themselves up the ladder of success. The Bible tells us that promotion is from above—that it is God who blesses or withholds His blessing, and because of Him kings and nations and individuals prosper and succeed or fail to do so. Obviously, as we have opportunity we should strive to do our best with the resources God has given us to better our lives and the lives of those around us.

And we read in this passage that as long as King Uzziah sought the Lord, God made him to prosper. With his heart he sought after God, and the Lord caused him to prosper.

Those who would tell you that the Scripture calls us to be totally unconcerned with our own well-being do not understand the message of Scripture, in my opinion. But what the Bible calls us to do is to seek our wellbeing at the hand of God. That you will find from one end of the Scripture to the other, and the Bible says that God will bless us. Now in the Old Testament those blessings always appeared here in this life because these things were done for an example unto us. In the New Testament era, sometimes those blessings appear in this life, sometimes in the next. Either way, in the long run God’s blessings follow obedience.

Jehovah-Jireh, our Great Provider, thank You for sustaining our lives. Thank You for the spiritual riches You have bestowed on me. Lord, give me strength for today to praise and thank You, whether You do or do not increase my worldly goods…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE
CAN LIVE IN CONTENTMENT.