trust God | Be Still...

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 – Get Right With God

Did you see yourself in that list of sinners? I’m sure the list is a lot longer than that! We can all think of sins we’ve committed. We can all remember seeing important people in our lives falling out of graces with God due to sin. Paul’s words can be startling. “[N]one of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.” But hold on, all is not lost!

Paul assures his readers that we don’t have to stay stuck in our sins. There is a way out. Jesus was sent on a rescue mission to capture our hearts and draw us closer to God. Being “right with God” is what Paul says is what we need to do. “[Y]ou were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

2 Kings 25:22-26 – Full Circle

Read 2 Kings 25:22-26

hand doing the okay signal with the sun light beaming through the circle

Isn’t Egypt where it all started? Isn’t Egypt the land of oppression God had rescued his people from? Why are they now finding their way back there to be “safe?” Sometimes we see circular patterns like this today. It’s like the battered wife that keeps going back to her abuser thinking he’d changed. (Speaking from experience here.)

Judah’s exile story continues to morph. It wasn’t a once and done sort of take over. It seems like the desire for control has overtaken many of the people involved. Gedaliah was an interesting choice for governor, chosen by King Nebuchadnezzar to keep the land of Judah bowing to him. Gedaliah was a descendent of one of King Josiah’s right hand men, Shaphan. Other than name recognition, I’m not discerning any real strategy.

2 Kings 20:1-11 – Can God Change His Mind?

Read 2 Kings 20:1-11

Have you ever been part of a discussion where the topic is “whether God ever changes his mind?” This is especially a key concept for our prayer lives. Hezekiah didn’t want to die, and he made that abundantly clear to God in his prayers. God’s mind had been made up, as we can see through Isaiah’s prediction of Hezekiah’s death.

This notion the king wouldn’t survive this illness wasn’t Isaiah’s idea. Nobody just makes up the idea somebody else is going to die and then say it’s a word from God. Do they? No, Hezekiah’s time was coming, and God wanted him to know. Knowing when you’re going to die, that, in and of itself is amazing! How many people get privy to “intel” like that? I’m sure it was infrequent in Hezekiah’s day, too.

2 Kings 19:1-19 – Beware of the Weeds

Read 2 Kings 19:1-19

I love how the title of this section in the New Living Translation tells us that Hezekiah is seeking the Lord. That alone is a message we can cling to for ourselves today. Remember we don’t need to be in dire need of rescue to seek the Lord. He is waiting to hear from us every day. But in this reading, Hezekiah’s predicament seemed to be dire. He felt threatened.

The bully king of Assyria had gotten into Hezekiah’s head. All reason and trust in God seemed to have fled from Hezekiah, and he felt desperate. Have you ever felt like everything was crashing in on you, being overwhelmed by your circumstances? Perhaps someone has tried to undermine your faith. I’m pretty sure Hezekiah was questioning his own belief system while feeling the responsibility for his people.

2 Kings 18:1-12 – A Breath of Fresh Air

Read 2 Kings 18:1-12

Didn’t you breathe a sigh of relief when you learned that finally someone had destroyed the pagan shrines? Hezekiah is a king we should remember and be pleased with, like God was. “So the Lord was with him, and Hezekiah was successful in everything he did.” Success leaves clues.

It’s hard to imagine that with a father like Ahaz, Hezekiah could be so true to God. But then again, I’ve known grown children today who have gone out of their way to live their lives differently than their parents did. They wanted their children to have it different than they experienced. Even though I had loving parents myself, there were still things I wanted to do differently for my kids. But the legacy of faithfulness is one that I want to pass on for generations to come!