10/20/2008
2 Kings 19:14 - 19 (HCSB) 14Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers, read it, then went up to the LORD’s temple, and spread it out before the LORD. 15Then Hezekiah prayed before the LORD: “LORD God of Israel who is enthroned [above] the cherubim, You are God—You alone—of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth. 16Listen closely, LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, LORD, and see; hear the words that Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God. 17LORD, IT IS TRUE THAT THE KINGS OF ASSYRIA HAVE DEVASTATED THE NATIONS AND THEIR LANDS. 18They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but made by human hands—wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. 19Now, LORD our God, please save us from his hand so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD God—You alone.”
===
Hezekiah was a good king; he revered God and destroyed all the shrines to false gods in Judah (the southern kingdom).
Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, sent a threatening note to Hezekiah. Assyria had raided and conquered many cities and nations. His eyes were next on Jerusalem. The threatening note was meant to intimidate Hezekiah into surrender or to ruin the moral of the soldiers. Sennacherib claimed that Assyria’s god had defeated every other god it had encountered, so what hope would Judah have. The note mocked God and this was insulting to Hezekiah.
Hezekiah took the note to the temple, spread it out open and prayed over it.
We too need to learn to take our problems to the Lord. We need to learn to open our hearts before God. Hezekiah could have simply gone to the temple and prayed over the matter, but this physical act demonstrates his personal pain over the note.
God wants us to bring our problems to him. He wants us to bring the problems and leave them. Many times we pray about things but do we really place our problems at God’s feet with the intention of leaving them there? How often do we pray over a matter and then pick the problem back up and continue to carry it?
God promises us peace in that we can leave our problems there at His feet. This doesn’t mean the problem is automatically gone, but it means we do not have to bear the weight of worry or sorrow that comes with it. God will work in a way that will complete His purpose in you and that glorifies Him. If we try to solve our own problems, God does not get the glory.
Hezekiah took his problem to God, physically. God recognized the sincerity of Hezekiah and told him that the king of Assyria was not a threat to Jerusalem.
What peace is there when we realize that God will deal with our issues? But this requires that we trust Him to take our issues. Do you trust Him enough to take your problems to Him and leave them there? Try taking some token or object associated with your problem to God and lay it before Him. Pray over the problem with God. When you are done, leave the item there or if you prefer, destroy or throw the item away to symbolize that you are leaving the problem in God’s hands. Can you do that? Can you leave it with God?
Jeff Justus
Cleff Publishing
www.cleffpublishing.com
©2008 Cleff Publishing, all rights reserved.
Terms of Usage: This devotional may be copied or forwarded for personal use without permission, but must include the author, publisher, web link, and copyright notice. Use in another published work must obtain permission first.