“Don’t Be Overconfident” 

As I was sitting in the dentist’s chair the other day, I listened in surprise when  Dr. Udager told me that I had a cavity.  I told him that I didn’t think I had any teeth left that didn’t have a filling already in them.   He just looked at me and said with great deliberation, “Don’t be overconfident.”   That was it.   No lecture; no other words.   Just the solemn, “Don’t be overconfident.”

  So, today, as I’m under the drill, and my mind is all loopy from the gas, I’m thinking, Ok, Lord. I’ve got to get my mind off the whizzing and grinding noises in my mouth.   How can this be applied to my life?   Don’t be overconfident.   He’s obviously telling me that I shouldn’t give up on diligent tooth maintenance.   I wonder if that applies to my spiritual walk as well. Many of us start out in great excitement and well-meaning exuberance when we accept Christ.   We have a new excitement for life and for others that we haven’t had before.   We have a hope and a reason for our life.   But, like all things, as they become comfortable, we start to take them for granted.   Do you take Christ for granted like a comfortable old shoe, or is He new every morning to you?

  Solomon was a wonderful, successful man until he became overconfident in himself.   And David was too.     Actually, most of the “good” kings from the Old Testament were successful until they had a downfall from being overconfident.   I have been studying Hezekiah lately, so I thought I’d share a little about his life. Do you know much about Hezekiah?   I had heard his name, but didn’t know much about him until I got into the Word.

  Let’s backtrack a minute to Hezekiah’s father, Ahaz.   Ahaz was a very ungodly man who worshipped false idols and provoked the Lord to anger.   He closed all of the temples of the Lord and was a very, very “bad” king.   Then comes Hezekiah. Hezekiah was a king who was faithful to God and wanted to do His will.   The first thing recorded in scripture that Hezekiah did was to open the doors of the temple, cleaning them of all of the mockery and wickedness, repairing them.   Does that sound like someone we know in the New Testament?    Hezekiah sent letters throughout Judah and Israel urging everyone to turn back to God.   He led the way in calling the entire nation to choose God. Here was a young man made king at the age of 25, not afraid of the scorn and ridicule he would receive, telling all of the country to worship and serve the one true God.   How about that for stepping out in faith!

“In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly.   And so he prospered.” 2 Chronicles 31:21. God gave him great riches and great success.

At age 39, God told him to “put his house in order,” and prepare for death.    He prayed to God to restore his health and God allowed him to live another 15 years.   After this, pride and overconfidence overtook him.   He forgot who had always provided for him.   He forgot who restored his health and gave him more time on this earth.   He forgot who gave him his successes.   He became comfortable with his old shoe. So, as always, what happens when we become prideful and overconfident?   Well, Hezekiah showed all of his wealth to the Babylonians.   Instead of witnessing to them about how God healed him and blessed him, he tried to impress the foreigners with all of his accomplishments.   As a consequence to this, the Babylonians overtook his empire, sending Judah and all it’s inhabitants into captivity.   

It’s sad that  someone so devoted to the Lord could fall into this temptation after so many years of commitment to God.   We need to pray all the time for a continual close walk with Christ, no matter how many years since your first commitment.  So, how does this fit with my dental visit?  Overconfidence can cause a cavity—a cavity that only becomes worse if it isn’t corrected.   Forgetting who loves you, who provides for you, who gives you successes (and allows failures) is a prideful mindset.   This overconfidence in self can cause serious consequences for you and for everyone around you.  Give thanks with a grateful heart today.

Psalm 24:1 “The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. “

Have a great day.       

Diane