a child of god
this is the way, run in it
Sometimes, when God wants to speak, we say, "What? Now, Lord?" to Him.
I'm reading in 2 Kings today, Chapter 20, about how the time came for King Hezekiah to die, and the LORD God sent His prophet, Isaiah, to tell Hezekiah that and to instruct him to "put your house in order." Hezekiah's response was to "turn his face to the wall and pray to God." He asked the LORD to spare his life, and weeps bitterly. Hezekiah was a good king. He wasn't perfect, but then none of us are. But he loved the LORD God and led the people of Israel to worship Him and walk in His ways. He says to God, "Remember now, O LORD, I beseech Thee, how I have walked before Thee in truth and with a whole heart (God is all about the state of our hearts), and have done what is good in Thy sight" (God also loves obedient action). And here comes the "What, now, Lord?" point. Isaiah, the LORD's prophet at the time, having delivered the word from the LORD that he was given, is on his way out of the house of King Hezekiah. He's walking through on his way to the door/gate, and I can see him in mid-step, one foot up in the air, about to come down, as he walks, and God speaks to Isaiah. He tells him to turn around and go back. That he's not done yet. God has something else to say. Can't you just see Isaiah, going, "What? Now, Lord? I thought we were done." This reminds me of two people I knew who had a ministry together of delivering words from the LORD when He indicated. They were godly guys, who prayed, and gave their time and hearts to God, and would speak when He indicated. One guy would feel like the Lord wanted to speak a word through him in tongues, and the other man would receive the interpretation. I remember the one guy telling us how they had only just arrived at a conference, and weren't even seated yet, hadn't had time to "get in the zone" by praying and waiting on God, and the other man said to his friend and ministry partner, "I think God wants to speak." The other guy said, "What, now?!" When God wants to speak, it doesn't really matter whether we are ready. Or feel spiritual. Or have spent tons of time in preparation. What matters is the time we put in with God, day in day out, that helps us in a crucial moment and shows whether we are paying attention to God, if we know how to hear His voice, and if we are willing to be available for Him to speak through, with humble, clean hearts, submitted to Him. But back to Hezekiah and Isaiah. So Isaiah turns around and goes back in to deliver another word from the LORD God. That's how quick God's response was to Hezekiah. Isaiah hadn't even made it out of the building, and God was answering Hezekiah's prayer. He didn't make Hezekiah wait. God says this to Isaiah, "Return and say to Hezekiah the leader of My people" - now that is interesting. God hears Hezekiah and is moved by his prayer, but He is interested in Hezekiah not just for who is he as a person, but for who he is in terms of roles - the leader of God's people, not Hezekiah's people. And say to Hezekiah, God goes on, "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you." I almost never get over the fact that God is so personal. That He sees my tears. That He hears my prayers. That He is concerned over me, over you, over each of us individually, and yes, also, corporately. God cares! He is moved by what moves us. He loves us like a Father, like a good, good Father. Better than we ever could love. It blows me away every time I realize that afresh. And Hezekiah, reminded by God of his role, reminded by God of the fact that God is the God of the whole people of Israel, and that Hezekiah is descended from King David, the man and ruler after God's own heart (yes, I know, not perfect, but again, none of us are), and has a lot to live up to. But yes, God says, I will heal you. And Isaiah, is he fed up with delivering words to Hezekiah, does he care if Hezekiah receives a stay of sentence and lives a bit longer? He does. Look what he does in verse 11, when Hezekiah asks for a sign that what God has said will really happen, and Isaiah and Hezekiah between them determine on a supernatural sign, "it is easy for the shadow on the steps to decline ten steps; no, but let the shadow turn backward ten steps," like the sun and time going backwards, Isaiah then prays to God for this to happen and it says, "he cried to the Lord." He put his heart and soul into that prayer. He prayed like he meant it. And God loves that! Isaiah didn't have to do that, but he cared, and he showed it. And God responded. When God wants to speak...life happens. Are we ready? Are we listening? Do we know Him?
1 Comment
Mom
2/17/2018 00:45:01
Excellent!
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