Give God the Glory

Tuesday, September 1st, 2026

4:18 am

Good morning! Today I am in Acts 12:20-25. While Herod Agrippa was in Caesarea, he became very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. The people from Tyre and Sidon sent some delegates to make peace with him because they were dependent on him for food. The delegates won the support of his personal assistant, and a appointment was granted for them to meet with Herod. When the day arrived, Herod dressed in his royal robes, and made a speech to them. When he was done with the speech, the people gave him a standing ovation, and shouted, "It's the voice of a god, not of a man!" Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck him with a sickness, because he accepted the people's worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died. Meanwhile, the Word of God continued to spread, and there were many new believers. When Barnabas and Paul had finished their mission to Jerusalem, they returned to Antioch, taking John Mark with them.

Wow, this is kind of a harsh section. Because Herod accepted the praise, instead of giving God the glory, God sent an angel to strike him with a deadly sickness. One that consumed him from the inside out. That is very graphic, but it shows us the severity of the sin of pride. God hates pride (Proverbs 8:13), thinking more highly of ourselves and what we have accomplished than God. When we are prideful, we take God out of the picture, thinking we can do everything on our own without God's help. But here is the thing, we can do nothing without God. God is the one that created us and everything in this world. He is the one that gives us the gifts, talents, and abilities we each have. So we must be careful, because everything we have can be taken away in an instant.

God's reaction to Herod was an immediate response to his sin, but God does not always punish immediately, sometimes His judgment comes later. He will judge everyone in the end. But while we are still alive, we have a chance to repent from our sins and seek His forgiveness. So the next time you receive praise for an achievement, give thanks to God, giving Him the honor and glory. He alone deserves all the glory and honor because we are nothing without Him.