Hezekiah was a good king.

That sounds like a simple statement to make. But the truth is, he was the first good king in a lineage of many corrupt kings. His father, Ahaz had committed many evils and had led the people of Judah away from God. So far away, in fact that he closed the temple which Solomon built. 

And, there was no place for God.

In effect, God had been banished from a land He had given, to a people He had chosen. Can you imagine? What if you gave someone a house to live in, but you were never welcome there? I mean, like what if you custom built a house for them, and paid for it. And it was a place you expected to hang out with them. But then they boarded it up, moved out and chose not to live in it. How ungrateful would that be? 

So I imagine Hezekiah growing up in that culture with a boarded up Temple of God and all sorts of idols and altars built for worship to foreign gods all around him. But he had a heart to seek after the God of Israel... the God of his ancestors. So on the first day of the first month that he was king, he reopened the temple. And he sought to educate and restore the people to God.

And God was welcomed home.

Even though many of the people had been raised without knowing God, many were eager to learn. So they came to the festivals, they brought their offerings, they did the best that they could no matter if they knew all the 'rules' or not.

Although most of the many people
who came from Ephraim,
Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun
had not purified themselves,
yet they ate the Passover,
​contrary to what was written.
But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying,
“May the Lord,
who is good, pardon everyone
who sets their heart on seeking God...
the Lord, the God of their ancestors
even if they are not clean
according to the rules
of the sanctuary.”
And the Lord heard Hezekiah
and healed the people.
2 Chronicles 30:18-20 NIV

And God healed the people.

Because of the prayers of Hezekiah, an entire nation was healed. They didn't have to know how to act. They only needed someone to lead the way... someone to pray for them and encourage them. They needed someone bold enough to show them what righteousness was all about.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
James 5:16 NIV

Let us pray for one another.

For there is much healing that we need. We may not always know all the 'rules' of God, but we don't have to. We simply need a right heart... one that desires to know Him. And if we will pray with that heart to Him, seeking wisdom, seeking change, seeking healing... He will answer.

Hezekiah didn't come from a perfect family that always did things right. He had to just stand up one day and make a change. He had to go against the grain, against the culture, against the societal norm. And I'm sure it wasn't easy at first. But an entire nation was changed because he opened the doors to the temple... because he prayed.

Let us open the door

If we too will be bold enough to go counter culture, we can open the door for someone else who needs to find their way to God... someone who needs healing. It doesn't have to be some grand gesture. It can be a simple act. 

So let us open the way
with our words
with our prayers
with our influence
with our instagram
with our smile
with our work
with our service
with our posture
with our praise!

I'll never forget the day
I realized the true difference
between faith and worry.

You see, I used to claim
worry as a proud badge I wore.
Like I had earned it somehow
as an honerary scout of sorts.

You know...
like if you wanted someone
to stand alongside you...
someone you could tell
your trouble to, and they
would pray about it with you,
then also worry with you
while waiting on God
to fix it.

Well, that was me.
I considered myself
a trusted worry sort.
Like I thought it was
part if the package of faith.

That is, until...
I realized that worry was not
what God is looking for
as His children grow up.

As a matter of fact,
James, the brother of Jesus
wrote this...
If any of you lacks wisdom,
let him ask of God,
who gives to all liberally
and without reproach, and
it will be given to him.

But let him ask in faith,
with no doubting, for
he who doubts is like
a wave of the sea driven and
tossed by the wind.

For let not that man
suppose that he will receive
anything from the Lord;
he is a double-minded man,
​unstable in all his ways.
James 1:5-8 NKJV

That's exactly how I felt,
even wearing my badge proudly.
For as I did my duty of doubting
(that's what worry really is)
I found myself tossing
and turning in rocking boat,
after rocking boat...
tossed about on many a sea.

And I was so glad the day
I got to trade in my badge
and begin to learn more about
the faith God chose to show me.

It was a normal Sunday in church
many years ago.
I was listening to my pastor speak
when he stopped and told us,
the whole congregation...
to all stand up... right there
in the middle of his message.

So we did.

Then he instructed us to turn
full body to face the right side
of the room... I remember it vividly
because in that particular church
there were these pretty
stained glass windows.

And my friend and pastor said,
"The wall you are looking at
represents your faith."

Then he instructed us to turn
completely around to face
the opposite wall...
the left side of the room.

So now we were turned
with our backs to the
stained glass windows.
(not that stained glass
has anything to do with faith...
but it does help the picture)

The pastor then said,
"This wall represents worry."

And that was the end
of his instruction.
So he told us all to sit down.

Simple.
But he wasn't quite done
with the lesson.

As he continued to teach
he made it very plain
that at no time...
standing in that church,
nor in any circumstance of life
are we able to face faith
with worry in view...
nor face worry,
with faith in view.

He wanted us to know,
and to see,
that we cannot
depend upon faith...
we cannot place our faith in God,
and worry
at the same time.

And if we tried to rationalize
that we can somehow do so,
using our peripheral vision
or with a quick turning
back and forth...
well then, we are going to
make ourselves mighty sick...
like a wave of the sea driven
and tossed by the wind.

And that is certainly NOT
how God desires His children
to think, nor to live life.

God prefers we live joyfully,
at peace, in contentment,
and reliant upon Him
for all good things.

God wants us to know
that we are only able to choose
one option at a time.

Will it be FAITH?
or
Will it be WORRY?

For one will always
negate the other.

In these particular verses
James encourages us
to ask for wisdom...
so let us not turn around
and worry, nor doubt whether
God will provide.

Let us not turn back and forth
in our own reasoning,
trying to figure out how
God will provide.

If that's our tactic,
why even ask Him
in the first place?

God is more than happy
when we turn to Him...
desiring to provide liberally.
It's the turning away,
that causes His heart to ache...
that stops His action,
His hand of provision
because we have taken
the privilege from Him.

Let us rather, trust Him fully...
faithfullly, without doubt,
without worry.

Word of God
train me today...
To humbly ask You, Lord, for wisdom...
and believe, without doubt
​that I will receive.

To stubbornly keep my back
to the wall of worry and stay
single-minded in faithful
​dependance on You.