“All God’s giants have been weak men, who did great things for God because they reckoned on God being with them.”
— Hudson Taylor
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
— 2 Corinthians 12:9
THE WARNING IN STRENGTH
A few months back, I spent some time in solitude at a home in the mountains some friends of ours generously allowed me to use.
I’ve found that my relationship with the Lord thrives when I am able to set intentional time aside and seek him in solitude. During this time I was reading through 2 Chronicles when I came across a verse that I had underlined years back.
I had been following the story of King Uzziah, a man who started his reign seeking the Lord, a man to whom God gave great success. He revolutionized Judah’s military prowess, he strengthened their economy, and he cultivated their land.
But then I hit verse 15 in 2 Chronicles 26, which reads:
“And his fame spread far, for he was marvelously helped, until he was strong.”
That last phrase hit me like a warning sign: until he was strong.
Isn’t God’s help what we all long for? Don’t we pray for His strength to sustain us, for His provision to bless us, for His favor to go before us?
And yet, in Uzziah’s life, we see a terrifying reality. There is a way to be “marvelously helped” by God and still fall away. There is a way to build strength yet still be brought to ruin.
Uzziah had everything a leader could hope for. He was young, capable, and had the hand of God guiding his steps. But his story reminds us that strength apart from humility does not secure our future, it accelerates our downfall.
THE RISE OF UZZIAH
Uzziah’s reign started with dependence. He became king at just 16 years old, and scripture tells us:
“He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper.” (2 Chronicles 26:5)
Under Uzziah’s leadership, Judah flourished.
He expanded the kingdom’s borders,
He fortified the city of Jerusalem
He developed advanced military technology.
His armies were well-equipped, his people were secure, and his fame spread across the land. Everything he touched seemed to thrive, because the Lord was with him.
Uzziah was winning.
Many of us have our own versions of Uzziah’s success: building a business, growing a ministry, establishing financial security, leading a thriving family. And when we experience victory, we celebrate, as we should. After all, these things are good blessings.
But they also carry a hidden danger: prosperity often shifts our dependence.
WHEN STRENGTH BECOMES A SNARE
Uzziah’s downfall was not an instant rebellion. It was a slow drift.
As his kingdom expanded and his accomplishments multiplied, something shifted in his heart. The humility that once defined him began to fade. The dependence that once drove him to seek the Lord began to weaken.
“But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God...” (2 Chronicles 26:16)
Success did not ruin Uzziah. Self-reliance did.
At the height of his power, he made a tragic mistake, he entered the temple to burn incense, a duty reserved for the priests. When confronted, he grew angry instead of repentant. And in that moment, the judgment of God fell upon him.
Leprosy broke out on his forehead, and he lived the rest of his life isolated from the people, cut off from the house of the Lord.
The man who once had marvelous help ended his days in disgrace.
What happened?
Uzziah’s heart was no longer whole before God. His strength became his downfall because it led him to believe he could stand apart from the One who had established him.
And isn’t this the cycle we see all around us?
A leader rises with integrity, builds something meaningful, gains influence, only to fall when pride takes root.
A man starts his career relying on God’s wisdom but later begins to trust only his own judgment.
A family that once sought the Lord together now struggles to fit Him into their hectic schedule.
This is the danger of prosperity.
It makes us believe we no longer need the very thing that sustained us in the first place.
It moves us from wholehearted devotion to half-hearted obedience. It shifts us from desperate reliance to convenient spirituality.
THE STRENGTH FOUND IN WEAKNESS
What if Uzziah had remained reliant? Not in his leadership, not in his courage, but in his dependence on God?
Scripture tells us again and again that God is drawn to weakness, not for weakness' sake, but because it creates space for His power.
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3)
“Apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
The call of the believer is not to grow strong in self-sufficiency but to remain strong in surrender.
His grace is sufficient because His power is made perfect in our weakness. When we abide in Him, we do not fear prosperity, because we recognize that our strength is not in what we build, but in the One who sustains us.
A FINAL CHARGE
Maybe you are in a season of great success.
Maybe you are taking ground in your career, in your ministry, in your personal life.
Or maybe you feel distant from God, unsure of where you lost sight of Him.
Wherever you find yourself today, let Uzziah’s story serve as a warning:
Do not let your strength become your downfall.
Abide in the vine.
Stay dependent.
Whatever victories you see, whatever blessings come your way, hold them with open hands, knowing that the God who gave them is the only one who can sustain them.
Uzziah had marvelous help…until he was strong.
Strength apart from humility leads to destruction.
But strength in surrender?
That leads to life.
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