The Ugly Truth: 2 Kings 21

Oh my goodness, reading this chapter today immediately brought me back to the AA rooms I’ve sat in—more times than I’d care to admit. In the beginning, I remember hearing people’s stories and thinking, “That’s awful. That’s not me. I shouldn’t even be here.” Pride and ego had me convinced I was different, when the truth was, I wasn’t. The reality is sin is a slippery slope. Denial only fuels destruction, and self-reliance is far more dangerous than I ever wanted to believe.

“Also he made his son pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft, and consulted spiritists and mediums. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger.”—2 Kings 21:6 NKJV

“But they paid no attention, and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel.” —2 Kings 21:9 NKJV

That’s the same thought I had reading about King Manasseh: I could never! I would never...

As if sacrificing his own son wasn’t unthinkable enough, he pulled the entire nation into deeper evil. Just when you think it can’t get worse, it does. It’s like those stories in the rooms where someone’s denial carried them further and further until they hit rock bottom.

The realty is my/our flesh is no different. Left unchecked, we are capable of things we'd never imagine. We are sinners in desperate need of a Savior, and to think otherwise is just pride talking.

Something I know about myself—I don’t practice the spiritual discipline of fasting enough. For me, fasting is one of the best tools to keep my flesh in check, to lay down my self-reliance, and to remind myself daily that I need Him more than anything.

Lord, cut off everything in me that’s not of You. Teach me to crucify my flesh, to pick up my cross, and to follow You—no matter the cost.