Scripture
Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. 2 Kings 18:5-7a
Observation
Hezekiah trusted God and was faithful and obedient to Him throughout his life. And the Lord blessed him.
Application
Did you notice the part that said "there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah"? That's amazing!! (Due to the reference of Judah, we know that this only took into consideration the kings after the kingdom split, so it does include David). Isn't that incredible? There were several good kings of Judah, but none like Hezekiah.
So, what made him so unique?
First of all, he trusted God. When I read that it reminded me of a post I read by Jon Acuff on his blog StuffChristiansLike which said (in part)....
Secretly inside, a thought has been brewing, but I didn’t know how to say it until I heard someone else voice the same thing. I was at the neighborhood pool, which is of course awesome, and I met one of my neighbors. We shook hands, made small talk and then he asked me what I thought about living there. I told him .... and he said,
“I know. This place is great. God is going to have to drag me out of here kicking and screaming.”
I get that! I’ve been thinking that too. And it made me realize a few things:
1. The god in my head is a jerk.
The first thing I think he’s going to do when I bump into something good is take it all away in some horrific call to somewhere else.
2. The god in my head calls me to things I’d hate.
He’s not a god that lines up the unique way he created me with a unique calling. In fact he does just the opposite. He finds something I love and then acts me to do something I’d hate. He knows I love writing and hate math so soon he’s going to make me teach Calculus.
3. The god in my head doesn’t give good things, he removes them.
When I find myself in the middle of something good, my instinct is to wrap my arms around it and protect it from the god in my head, not thank him for it.
How did I get there?
How did I get so far away from who I feel like God tries to reveal himself as over and over in the Bible?
As I’ve said before, when God has a single moment to reveal himself to Moses in Exodus 33, what does he show him? Does he show him his might or his power or his anger? When he essentially says, “When you see me, this is what I want you to see,” what does he show Moses? His goodness.
“I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence.”
He reveals his goodness. God isn’t a jerk. God is good.
And throughout the Bible, God doesn’t call people to things they’re not created for. He calls them to situations that awaken deep seated purpose and desires in people that God himself placed there before they were even born. Paul, the loud, bold, road tripping persecutor of Christians, is not called by God on the road to Damascus to become a quiet, shy, homebody theologian. He becomes a loud, bold, road tripping megaphone of hope.
God doesn’t call us to things we’re not designed to do.
Throughout the Bible, we also see a picture of God as someone who delights in giving....God loves goodness. God loves mercy, not sacrifice. God loves gift giving. God loves the sick. God loves the mess-ups.And though it may feel hard to believe if you’ve spent years with a different god in your head, God loves you. (emphasis mine)
Hezekiah did. And we will know if we truly trust Him, by what? According to this scripture, the evidence of Hezekiah's trust in God was the fact that he held fast to God, he did not cease to follow Him and he obeyed Him.
If we truly trust God we will hold fast to God and never let go, no matter our circumstances, no matter how bad things get, no matter the storms that may come - we will hold fast to God, to Jesus, to the Word of life.
If we truly trust God we will not cease to follow Him. Our faith will be consistent and it will be long lasting. We will persevere, we will not give up.
If we truly trust God we will obey Him. Our walk will match our talk. Obedience is the evidence of our faith and what we really think about God.
And what was the result of Hezekiah's trust in God? The Lord was with him and he was successful.
The Lord was with him and the Lord blessed him.
If we trust God, if we hold fast to Him, follow Him faithfully and obey Him - the Lord will be with us and He will bless us. This doesn't necessarily mean materially (though He sometimes blesses us that way too). But He will bless us and He will be with us. Isn't that a fantastic promise?!
Prayer
Dear Lord, sometimes we have preconceived notions of you that are so far from reality and we don't even realize it. Help us to trust You and who You say You are. Help us to trust Your Word, help us to trust in You. Give us a desire for You, a desire to hold fast to You and never let go. A desire to follow You wholeheartedly and faithfully for the rest of our lives. A desire to meditate on Your Word and wield it as we fight temptation in order to live our lives in obedience to You. We thank You that You are with us, help us to delight in Your presence. Amen.
Tomorrow's passage: 2 Kings 19-21, Galatians 5
2 comments:
Amen! God has really been showing me lately that I CAN trust Him and He WILL help me! I have been getting so caught up in my shortcomings as a sinner, that I keep forgetting to trust in His word and to hold fast to Him. Thanks for being an instrument for him sending this message to me yet again!
Great post. I LOVE reading Stuff Christians Like. I think the parts you highlighted are so true. God is so good and we sometimes fail to see it because it interferes with OUR agenda. (that's why my favourite verse lately is Proverbs 16:9)
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