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!
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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. |
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January 2019
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