Strong—Until He Stopped Seeking God

II Chronicles 26:5 – “He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper.”

There is a principle in this single verse that can build a life—or break one.

Uzziah became king of Judah at sixteen. He did not inherit a legacy of steady faith. His father, Amaziah, had begun well but finished poorly. He obeyed God—until success tempted him to spiritual compromise. After victory in battle, he bowed to the very gods of the people he defeated. Half-hearted devotion led to full-scale ruin. Jerusalem suffered. The kingdom fractured. Amaziah died disgraced.

Then came Uzziah.

Into the life of this young king stepped a man named Zechariah. Not a warrior. Not a politician. A teacher. A man who “instructed him in the fear of God.” Under Zechariah’s steady influence, Uzziah set himself to seek the Lord. That phrase implies intention, discipline, and direction. He oriented his life toward God.

And God responded.

“As long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper.”

That is not accidental language. It is crucial. Uzziah’s prosperity was connected to his pursuit of God. The blessing was connected to seeking.

Read the rest of the chapter and you see the evidence: military victories, fortified cities, agricultural success, national security, widespread fame. Uzziah became strong—very strong.

And that is where the danger began.

Strength without sustained humility leads to spiritual destruction. Success can quietly suffocate dependence on the Lord. The very blessings God gives can become the source from which pride rises.

When Uzziah was strong, his heart was lifted up. He stopped seeking. He stopped fearing. And once the fear of God faded, he crossed a boundary God had clearly drawn. He entered the temple to burn incense—an act reserved exclusively for consecrated priests. It was not ignorance. It was arrogance.

Authority in one realm does not grant authority in every realm. But pride convinces us it does.

The priests confronted him. He resisted them. And immediately leprosy broke out on his forehead—public, visible, unmistakable. The king who once stood in strength was now isolated, shut away until the day of his death.

The tragedy is not that Uzziah sought the Lord. The tragedy is that he stopped.

So, what does this teach us?

First, never underestimate the power of a Zechariah.
Behind every strong beginning is often a faithful, steady voice instructing in the fear of God. Zechariah invested in a young leader who did not have a consistent spiritual example at home. He shaped a king. The world does not merely need more influencers; it needs more instructors in the fear of God.

Second, seeking God must outlast success.
Uzziah did not fall in weakness. He fell in strength. Prosperity and success is not proof that you have arrived. It is a test of spiritual character. When we stop pursuing God because life is going well, we will begin drifting even if we do not feel it.

Third, the fear of God is a safeguard.
When we lose it, we overstep. We rationalize. We assume immunity from consequence. The fear of God is not terror—it is reverent awareness that He is holy and we are not. ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.’ Proverbs 9:10

For those of us further along in years, the lesson sinks in deep: start well, yes—but finish strong. Keep seeking. Keep fearing. Keep your eyes fixed on Christ when the victories stack up and when your name is spoken with respect.

Because the promise still stands.

“As long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper.”

The question is not whether God is willing to bless.

The question is whether we will continue to seek.