R³ Devotional - Day 189

“When Success Becomes a Snare”

King Uzziah’s story is one of breathtaking success and devastating failure. He came to the throne young, full of promise, and Scripture tells us that “as long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success” (v.5). The Hebrew word for “sought” (darash) means more than a surface-level prayer or religious habit. It suggests earnest, continuous pursuit, the way a traveler searches for water in a desert or a lost child cries out for a parent. And Uzziah did seek the Lord, and God did bless him. His fame “spread far and wide” (v.15). He had everything. But then came the turn:

“But after Uzziah became powerful, his heart was lifted up to his destruction.”
That phrase, his heart was lifted up, is from the Hebrew word gabah, meaning “to rise high,” “to be exalted,” or “to be arrogant.” This word holds a negative connotation for Uzziah’s personality. It wasn’t his military strength or political power that led to his downfall. It was a quiet, internal shift; an elevation of the heart. The pride in his heart rose above the will of God.
 
I read this and flinch, because I see myself. I see friends, family members, loved ones that I have watched fall to this slow decline. There have been seasons in my life when success dulled my spiritual hunger. I still prayed, but I didn’t seek. I still thanked God, but I stopped depending on Him the way I once did. That’s what pride does—it replaces desperation with self-confidence. It convinces us we’re not as needy as we used to be. I didn’t become rebellious—I became respectably independent. I still gave God credit, but quietly took the control.
 
Looking back, I can see how “my heart, too, was lifted up.” Not in obvious ways, but in subtle shifts:

•   I prayed less before big decisions.
•   I assumed more and listened less.
•   I became more concerned with outcomes than obedience.

And just like Uzziah, I crossed invisible lines. Not lines of blatant sin, but lines of self-rule.
Verse 16 says, “He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.” At a glance, this might seem like an act of worship. Wasn’t he just trying to honor God? But this was no innocent mistake. Uzziah violated sacred order. Incense burning was strictly reserved for the priests, specifically those descended from Aaron (see Exodus 30:7-9). It represented intercession; the prayers of the people rising to God. To step into that role was to step into a position of spiritual mediation. Uzziah wasn’t just offering incense; he was trying to access God's presence on his own terms. Uzziah stepping in meant he no longer felt the need for a mediator. He approached the Holy without reverence. He saw himself as above the order God had established. And that is spiritual pride at its most dangerous.

This was the same sin that cost Saul his throne—offering a sacrifice out of order (1 Samuel 13). It was the sin that led to the deaths of Nadab and Abihu—offering “unauthorized fire” before the Lord (Leviticus 10:1-2). In ancient Israel, spiritual authority was sacred, and the boundaries God established weren’t ceremonial formalities; they were foundational, theological truths. Uzziah’s act revealed more than arrogance; it revealed entitlement. He believed that because he was successful in every other arena, he could now assume the priest’s role, too. He confused favor with freedom.

We may not burn incense in a temple, but we, too, sometimes try to bypass God's design. We replace reverence with familiarity. We treat sacred moments casually. We pray while scrolling. We sing without worshiping. We read without listening.

The moment Uzziah stopped seeking was the moment his strength became his snare, and the same can be true for us. Uzziah’s fall didn’t begin in the temple; it began in the heart that stopped bowing before God. When the heart rises, the soul forgets how to kneel—and that’s where ruin begins. The greatest danger of success is forgetting the One who gave it.
 
Life Application:

1. Spiritual drift often begins with subtle pride.
   The heart lifts long before the hands move. Stay low. Stay desperate.
2. Don’t confuse divine blessing with personal entitlement.
   God's gifts are not permission slips to rewrite the rules. Blessing is not a license to self-direct.
3. Protect the sacred.
   Uzziah’s downfall began when he no longer saw God’s order as necessary. Guard your reverence. Let holiness be more than a word—it should be a posture.

Prayer:
Lord, forgive me for the times I let my heart be lifted above Your voice. Forgive me when I’ve made success a substitute for seeking You. Keep me low, where You are near. Strip me of anything that keeps me from daily dependence on You. When my name grows, may Your name grow greater. And when I am blessed, may I never forget the Blesser. Guard me from the pride that quietly poisons the soul. And if I must be broken to be near You, then break me gently and draw me close. In Jesus’ name, Amen.