“He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the LORD, God gave him success.” 2 Chronicles 26:5
I hadn’t seen Dave in YEARS! You know how it goes. You meet and get to know someone, friendship grows…then something happens to separate the relationship. They move away, you get married, or you both fall into different lives that no longer intersect. Yup! There he was… Dave! My old friend…or at least I THOUGHT!
When I saw HIM, my initial reaction was exuberance and joyful surprise. It LOOKED like he had the same reaction when he saw me as well, because he immediately started walking my way. Yea… just 2 good old pals preparing to greet one another…during a pandemic! The thought hadn’t even occurred to me until we were about 7 feet apart. Then ‘The Rule’ hit me about keeping a 6’ safe distance apart. And faster than an approaching bullet, my brain registered ‘Warning!’ Between head and heart, I had a decision to make!
At 6.7 feet I noted that Dave, like me, had not stopped moving. My smile immediately became bigger because before we had even come together for that ‘friend hug,’ a societal ‘no-no,’ I KNEW I was going to get it! In this situation, my relationship with Dave was greater than the fear of a virus. He showed me that it was for him.
2 Chronicles 26 tells a story about Uzziah, a 16 year old lad who was thrust into being the King of Judah. This story has a LOT to do with his mentor…Zechariah. The book says that Zech ‘instructed him in the fear of God.’ In other words, Uzziah had to LEARN how to honor, respect and relate to a God who could snuff him out at any time if he didn’t! It’s a good story. Up until the end when he forgot his learning… AND his place!
What is the opposite of Faith? If you have true faith in God, you can easily guess it. Because THAT thing is the biggest God killer in all the universe. When THAT thing is allowed to rise, IT can become a formidable god that will become harder and harder to topple. I guess I can just as easily say that God is waiting to see how close I want to get to HIM during this so called crisis. It’ll either be Him… or the other thing. And the winner takes all!
