"Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and true before the Lord his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he prospered." 2 Chronicles 31:20-21
Hezekiah was one of the good kings of Judah. He loved God. He was dedicated to cleaning up Judah and turning wayward hearts back to God. These two verses sum up the previous chapters chronicling Hezekiah's reign and God blessed him for it.
Now read on in the next verse...
"After these deeds of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah; he encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them over to himself. " 2 Chronicles 32:1
I think that when things get tough or go wrong in our lives, we tend to look for reasons why. We want to make sense of it, even if that means blaming ourselves. How many times in your life have you heard someone say something like, "What did I do to deserve this?" On the other hand if we have been seeking God and serving Him with all our heart than maybe our thoughts go the other way. Why would God let this happen? Doesn't He appreciate my efforts? Interestingly, Hezekiah doesn't do either.
In 2 Chronicles 32, Hezekiah, it would seem, accepts the fact that the attack of an enemy is always possible, even likely. He does not waste time placing blame. This is just the way life is on this planet. In a broken and fallen world, stuff happens. There is evil to be contended with. We have enemies that don't like to see us get ahead. If anything, his obedience and that of the Israelites had prepared them for this moment. It had set the stage for God to act on their behalf, to show them who He was and why He was different from the idols they had allowed to infiltrate their lives. Hezekiah immediately faces the challenge head on. He behaves like you would expect a king to behave. A king who trusts in a powerful God.
When faced with a formidable challenge, I think we can learn something from Hezekiah in chapter 32. Just because we face difficulty, it doesn't mean we did something to deserve it. Stuff happens. And if we seek to serve God with all our hearts, we have opened the door for a powerful God to show up in a mighty way during life’s toughest moments.
--Darla Beardsley
Encouraging Words:
“Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” 2 Chronicles 32:7-8
"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33