He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Uzziah had done, but unlike him he did not enter the temple of the LORD.
2 Chronicles 27:2 (NIV)
Father, help me today to be humble enough and perceptive enough to learn from the lives of others. You have placed in my path so many people who know You and seek to please You in all that they do. Equally, there are those who do not know You nor wish to know You. Grant me eyes to be able to see and a heart that is willing to yield to the guidance that You are providing me through their example.
His father, Uzziah, was a man who lived his life to please You (2 Chronicles 26:4-5). On face value he appeared one day to just want to worship You through the burning of incense (2 Chronicles 26:16). Yet, this prideful disobedience and “crossing of the line” resulted in him becoming a leper until the day he died. What amazes me about this today verse is that his son, Jotham, learned from his father’s mistake, taking the good that his father had done and applying them in his own life (he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Uzziah had done). But he also learned from his father’s mistakes, being sure not to do the same (he did not enter the temple of the LORD). Oh, that I could have that level of humility and self awareness to pursue You with passion while not crossing the line, learning from those around me!
Help me today to be that person, always observing and always learning from the lives of others what it means to please You. Open Your Word to me and my eyes to the world, causing me to see both as You do. And give me a heart that is tender and always receptive to Your leading through the lives of others. And finally, Father, show me how I might help others to learn from my mistakes, so that they do not suffer the same setbacks that I have had to bear up under. Give me a transparent spirit that has nothing to hide but much to share for all who might benefit from my journey with You. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.