As my last semester at school came to a close I breathed a sigh of relief. I had finally made it, all pressure was off and it was time to relax. In a couple days I would be headed home for
[Two days later]
Oh boys! I sat there in my prof’s office dumbfounded. I was sure that this girl had understood my intentions, just to hang out as friends. After all, we had been friends all year, and to my knowledge I hadn't done anything that would have led her to believe that I was interested in pursuing a relationship with her.
The previous day she and I went for ice cream. I thought it was a fun time. Here I sat across from my prof as he told me about my ice cream run with my friend and the words that I had said to her. Eeeww. That was a gross feeling. From what I figured out, she had gone to the Dean of Women and complained that I had confused her with my intentions and with some of the things I shared with her on our ice cream run.
Aaack! I panicked! My prof encouraged me to pray about it and see if I needed to talk to her. Unfortunately, I skipped the praying part and tried to get in contact with her right away. So she and I fought through the grossest and most awkward conversation I’ve ever had in my life. I had an awful time finding the words to say, and it left the two of us on a really poor note for the end of the school year.
As I read the story of king Hezekiah this last weekend in my devotions I very quickly realized what I had done wrong.
Unlike most of the kings before him, he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Let’s take a quick look at the big picture before I show you what jumped out at me.
The Big Picture
Hezekiah is reigning as king of
“Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of
Oh boys…I know what I would do if the largest army in the known world showed up in my home city asking me to surrender. The small city of
The Small Picture
What does Hezekiah do? He runs to the Lord:
“Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “O Lord, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God” (19:14-16).
“It is true, O Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone fashioned by men’s hands. Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God” (
Wow! What a prayer! And what an answer to that prayer:
“That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men from the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning – there were all the dead bodies! So Sennacherib king of
Hezekiah realized that he had no control over the situation. Instead of trying to take control himself he turned to the one who is control of everything: “O Lord…you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth” (
Why did Hezekiah run to the Lord? Why didn’t he run away or even worse try to fight the Assyrians? Hezekiah ran to the Lord because he knew God was faithful. He knew that God would deliver him from the situation. He knew that God was in control of everything and would be faithful to provide for him.
Going back to my friend from school, it’s so obvious what I did wrong. After I talked with my prof I should have done what he said and prayed about the situation. I realized that I wasn’t control and what did I do? I tried to take control myself. I tried to fix the problem with her right away. Did it work? No.
Instead I should have done what Hezekiah did. I should have gone to the Lord, the one who is in control of all things, and asked for wisdom and guidance. I am convinced that He wanted me to leave it alone. But God used that to teach me a lesson.
What about you? When you reflect on some of the recent happenings of your life, what do you see? Do you see someone who impulsively tries to control other people? Do you see someone who avoids people or situations because of a fear of not being in control or not knowing what the outcome will be? Do you see someone who manipulates others?
This next week I am going to keep an eye out for those circumstances where I don’t feel comfortable or secure. I hope to do what Hezekiah did, and turn immediately to the Lord in prayer. In the relationships in my life where I fear the unknown, I will declare my dependence on God, the faithful God, and seek His help in prayer.
How will you respond to the faithful God?
5 comments:
That's good!
Very good indeed Joshua. Don't finnish like Hezekiah eh ? :), I know you won't, don't worry. Love you man.
Justin W
Thanks for posting this Josh, I know I have struggeled with the same thing at times. So often we forget to pray and ask God for his guidence when we are faced with situations like that. I know for myself that things always have ended up worse when I do not pray.
love you dude
Hey Josh. Thanks for the awesome post! Prayer is SO important and I know what it's like to take things into my own hands too and have it all bomb in the end. I also know what it's like to go to the Lord for wisdom and direction and the incredible difference that it makes. God is so good! Man, I am so blessed to have such an amazing brother to look up to!
God bless,
Love ya lots!
Andrea
Girl-Guy stuff is complicated.. No use trying to get through it without the Lords wisdom. Good insights Josh. Not only on relationship stuff but just with worries in general. Thanks.
-Ross
Post a Comment