Day 243: Power of a Name

John 18:1-18; 2 Chronicles 26; Psalm 83

When the guards show up to arrest Jesus, he declares "I am Jesus!" and they all fall to the ground. People don't do that when I introduce myself. Ha! There could be several reasons why this happens. First, there is power in the name of Jesus. He and his name are "God in the bod," and the Creator of the universe. Secondly, if I remember right, his name can drive out powerful demons. These men might have been influenced and filled with demons and so by declaring his name, the demons were forced to fall to the ground. Whatever the cause, it demonstrates the incredible power of the name of Jesus.

Uzziah's story is sad. He had great power, was obeying The Lord, and was known all over the world! However, scripture tells us that he "became proud of his power, and this led to his downfall." What did he do that made God angry? He offered incense at the altar for The Lord. What? That doesn't seem like it is wrong! However, that job was assigned by God to the priests because not just anyone could go before The Lord. They didn't have Jesus to bridge that gap yet. Uzziah thought he was awesome enough to do something so special, but God didn't let it slide. And when he was called out on it at first, he got angry. He didn't like being called out, as most people don't, and God struck him with leprosy. It was at that point, when physically his disobedience manifested itself, that he accepted his mistake and left. He suffered the rest of his life, unfortunately. Humility is super important. We cannot become too proud of ourselves that we stop submitting to The Lord. May Uzziah's example remind us of this.