““This message is for King Hezekiah of Judah. Don’t let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you with promises that Jerusalem will not be captured ….After Hezekiah received the letter…, he went up to the Lord’s Temple and spread it out before the Lord. “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. Bend down, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see! Listen to Sennacherib’s words of defiance against the living God.”
Isaiah 37:10, 14, 16-17 NLT
I heard in a sermon once that the only real power the enemy has is the power to make you question and doubt the goodness of G-d. It began in the Garden when the enemy, in the form of a snake, asked Eve- “did G-d really say”.
I don’t know about the theology of that statement but I have experienced seeds of doubt that when watered result in unbelief, fear, worry, and sin. Personally, I tend to get myself into trouble by how I respond to the doubt when it arises. Do I answer with the Word of G-d as Jesus did in the wilderness? Do I eat of the fruit of doubt? How do I – how should I – respond when doubt, worry, and fear come my way?
Hezekiah gave me a good example to follow in today’s passage. Hezekiah received a message from his enemies about a planned attack on Jerusalem and his opening line was “don’t let your G-d, in whom you trust, deceive you…”
Doubt. Is G-d deceiving me? What if He is? What if these armies defeat us?
Hezekiah had a choice. He could question G-d which leads to doubt, worry, fear, anxiety, and sin. Or, he could just go to the source and seek Him.
I love Hezekiah’s response. He spread out the letter before G-d and before he uttered a question, before he complained, before he reacted or responded, he praised. He PRAISED!
He was about to be attacked and instead of turning to fear and doubt, he laid out the letter before G-d and spoke directly to Him. Hezekiah addressed G-d as the Lord of heavens armies and proclaimed what he knew to be true about Him.
That, my friends, is how we silence the enemy. When we exalt Him, the enemy flees. When we praise the G-d of Angel Armies, the enemy doesn’t stand a chance. Instead of spreading out my complaint to Him, I will choose to spread out my hands in praise.
Father – thank You for Your Word! Every day You amaze me with something new. You never fail to speak to me. Thank You Father. You are good and You keep doing good. Your leadership in my life is perfect and You can be trusted. Amen.
Daily Reading: Isaiah 37-39, Psalms 76
July 25, 2022