TOO BIG FOR HIS BRITCHES

Today's reading: 2 Kings 16-20

"Hezekiah welcomed the Babylonian envoys and showed them everything in his treasure-houses--the silver, the gold, the spices, and the aromatic oils. He also took them to see his armory and showed them all his other treasures--everything! There was nothing in his palace or kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them." 2 Kings 20:13 NLT

Hezekiah, recently healed by the Lord, took it upon himself to 'show off' in front of the ambassadors from Babylon.

He hosted a grand tour of all his kingdom.

He let them take a long look at all he had accumulated.

The problem is, it wasn't Hezekiah's kingdom and Hezekiah didn't deserve the praise.

God had done it all.

God had allowed him to sit upon the throne.

God had established the kingdom of Judah.

Hezekiah, to put it in terms we might all understand, had gotten a little too big for his britches.

You can read on in the passage to see that God, through Isaiah, reprimanded and disciplined Hezekiah's wrong thinking.

But it's a lesson for us.

What might we be receiving applause for, that we had nothing at all to do with?

Where might we be taking credit for God-sized works in our lives?

What opportunities are we accepting the standing ovations only God deserves?