-
@ LibertyGal
2024-11-27 15:13:36There are so many evil and harmful things happening in the world today. Christians are being persecuted for their faith. Our health is falling apart and we are being given conflicting information. Nations are fighting against nations and it looks like a world war could be started in any of the numerous flashpoint locations. Nations are divided within and without. It is easy to be overwhelmed.
I’m going to use an Old Testament event as an example of how we should deal with all of these problems that are beyond what we can deal with ourselves.
Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them. (2 Kings 18:13)
At this time, Assyria was the most powerful nation on earth (or at least in the Middle East region). They were known for their violence and cruelty and now they had their sights set on conquering Judah. The people in Judah were truly terrified. They had seen what Assyria had done to other nations.
Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in Judean, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. Thus says the king, ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you from my hand; nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria, “Make your peace with me and come out to me, and eat each of his vine and each of his fig tree and drink each of the waters of his own cistern, until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey, that you may live and not die.” But do not listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? (2 Kings 18:28-33)
It was true that Assyria had conquered every nation they had attacked. It was true that neither the military, nor the religion, of any of those nations had saved them from Assyria, but these other nations did not serve the one true God and Creator of all. Judah was God’s chosen people. They were different.
Still, the people of Judah were terrified. They knew they could not withstand an attack by Assyria on their own. Fortunately Judah currently had one of its few faithful kings.
Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said, “O Lord, the God of Israel, who are enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. Now, O Lord our God, I pray, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O Lord, are God.” (2 Kings 19:14-19) {emphasis mine}
How did King Hezekiah respond to the violent attack and the mocking of Judah, Hezekiah, and God? “He went up to the house of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.” Hezekiah took his dreadful problem to God. He laid out the mocking letter before God. He prayed for deliverance, but he didn’t just pray for deliverance. He prayed for God to be glorified. He prayed for the destruction of those who mocked God. He laid his problems before God and trusted God to solve what Hezekiah could not. We need to do the same.
Are you or a family member suffering from a debilitating or deadly illness? Lay it before the Lord. Are you suffering persecution for your faith? Lay it before the Lord. Are you concerned with the evil that is seemingly overtaking the world? Lay it before the Lord. Are you worried by international disputes around the world that look like they could erupt into a world war or even a nuclear war? Lay it before the Lord.
There are many problems in the world that are far beyond what we can handle or fix, but there is no problem too big for our God and Savior. He’s got this.
Here is the same event described in Isaiah:
Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. Hezekiah prayed to the Lord saying, “O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to reproach the living God. Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have devastated all the countries and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, Lord, are God.” (Isaiah 37:14-20)
There is nothing God can’t handle. In our prayers, we also need to make sure our prayers are in line with glorifying God, upholding His word, standing for truth & righteousness, and following His eternal plan. We should put our problems before God, but we also need to glorify God and know that He has a perfect plan which may not include our momentary comfort. He will however always glorify Himself.
Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard you.’ (2 Kings 19:20) {emphasis mine}
God hears our prayers and, when we pray according to His will, He answers them. Even when God says, “No” or “Wait,” He always “… causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
Instead of trying to fix everything ourselves, we need to lay our problems before God. God knows all that ever was, all that is, and all that ever will be. His plans are perfect. We may want a particular solution, but God knows better than us. Sometimes the very thing we pray desperately to avoid is the very thing that we need most.
In case you have never read the story of Hezekiah, God saved Jerusalem miraculously and Judah didn’t have to lift a finger.
Then the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, all of these were dead. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at Nineveh. (Isaiah 37:36-37)
Trust Jesus.