King Rehoboam of Judah was the son of Solomon and grandson of David.  King David was described as a man after God’s own heart.  This means that he followed God in all his ways.  It doesn’t mean that he was perfect, but he lived a life that was centered imperfectly around the Lord.  His grandson Rehoboam was not that way; he went his own way and turned away from the law of the Lord.

The Lord then sent King Shishak of Egypt to punish Rehoboam for his unfaithfulness.  Upon seeing Shishak come and his huge army destroying everything in their path Rehoboam and the leaders of Israel humbled themselves and confessed their sins before the Lord.  That was what the Lord was hoping would happen.

God gives us the choice; humble your heart before Him or He will send a destroyer that will force you to humble your heart.  If we would just logically examine this choice, we would quickly recognize the foolishness of many of our actions.  God is a loving, generous Father who cares for us and protects and provides for us.  The destroyer seeks only to destroy some part or all our life.  Which does it make more sense to humble your heart before?  And yet all too often we resist God and refuse to humble our hearts before Him.

When I was in boot camp as a young man, I quickly realized one of the objectives of the instructors was to break our will to teach us how to follow commands.  This is necessary in a military unit; it can mean life and death, not just for the one following the commands but for their entire unit.  I learned quickly that by humbling myself before these instructors that I would be more successful.  I saw some men resisted the leadership and instruction and paid a price in various forms of discipline or punishment.

God’s purposes are the same in my life.  He wants me to learn to follow His commands quickly and without question.  I have come to recognize the direct connection between a humble heart and God’s blessings.  The more quickly I respond, the more successful I am in this Christian life. This is so important to God that if we do not do it, He will send someone or something into our lives to teach it to us.  The problem with that is the other ‘instructor’ doesn’t love us or desire to see us prosper as God does.  But if that is what it will take to teach us how to serve God with a humble heart, God is willing to let us endure it.

The choice is ours; serve God with a humble heart or endure the forced humbling of our heart by an unloving destroyer.  If you are in the hands of the destroyer now, simply humble your heart before God and ask Him to help you to learn to serve Him.  God may not deliver you until you have done that, because that may be exactly why you are in the hands of the destroyer.  Jesus, teach us to serve You with a humble heart.

Read: 2 Chronicles 11:1-13:22; Romans 8:26-39; Psalm 18:37-50; Proverbs 19:27-29