Staying Faithful....

When I read about Assyria invading Judah, and King Sennacherib mocking God, I can’t help but see Satan at work in the King’s heart. It’s as if Satan Himself was taunting Israel and trying to use fear to make them surrender (to turn their backs on God). How often does Satan today still use this tactic? He is powerless in comparison to God. He can only do things to tempt us into believing a lie. Once that happens, and we take it in, he can manipulate it until we allow it to drive us away from God in fear and despair. Satan’s ploy is to alter our mindset by deception. Think about all the ways he has deceived people over the centuries. “Eat the fruit, Eve, you won’t die”, “did God really say that?”, “take the money, Bill, no one will know”, or “do it, Jan, it’s not hurting anyone”. Hezekiah knows God, He knows Him well enough to trust Him, even though his army is outnumbered 20 to 1. He knows with God on his side “there is a power far greater” there to help him. The army surrounding him is “merely men”. And even in the midst of hearing King Sennacherib’s speech in front of his own people, and seeing the fear grip them, Hezekiah stood on his Rock of Faith (God). This knowledge and relationship he had with God, gave him security in times of despair, and strength in times of utter desperation. If you read the more detailed account of this (2 Kings 18-19), the Israelites stayed silent during King Sennacherib’s blasphemous speech, even though many were trembling in fear. This showed that they respected Hezekiah, and more importantly, trusted God to fight for them. It showed that they acted on what they knew to be true (God’s word) instead of on their feelings of fear and desperation. Do you have this kind of trust with God. Is it something you strive to develop? Ask Him, and don’t be surprised if He answers your prayer. You might just have to push through a little dirt first. Go with what you know to be true in times of worry, fear, or despair. Your feelings will come and go, God’s word and His promises will last forever. And they will support you through the storms of life. Stay faithful.

1 After Hezekiah had faithfully carried out this work, King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified towns, giving orders for his army to break through their walls. 2 When Hezekiah realized that Sennacherib also intended to attack Jerusalem, 3 he consulted with his officials and military advisers, and they decided to stop the flow of the springs outside the city. 4 They organized a huge work crew to stop the flow of the springs, cutting off the brook that ran through the fields. For they said, “Why should the kings of Assyria come here and find plenty of water?”5 Then Hezekiah worked hard at repairing all the broken sections of the wall, erecting towers, and constructing a second wall outside the first. He also reinforced the supporting terraces in the City of David and manufactured large numbers of weapons and shields. 6 He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate. Then Hezekiah encouraged them by saying: 7 “Be strong and courageous! Don’t be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria or his mighty army, for there is a power far greater on our side! 8 He may have a great army, but they are merely men. We have the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles for us!” Hezekiah’s words greatly encouraged the people. Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem 9 While King Sennacherib of Assyria was still besieging the town of Lachish, he sent his officers to Jerusalem with this message for Hezekiah and all the people in the city: 10 “This is what King Sennacherib of Assyria says: What are you trusting in that makes you think you can survive my siege of Jerusalem? 11 Hezekiah has said, ‘The Lord our God will rescue us from the king of Assyria.’ Surely Hezekiah is misleading you, sentencing you to death by famine and thirst! 12 Don’t you realize that Hezekiah is the very person who destroyed all the Lord’s shrines and altars? He commanded Judah and Jerusalem to worship only at the altar at the Temple and to offer sacrifices on it alone.13 “Surely you must realize what I and the other kings of Assyria before me have done to all the people of the earth! Were any of the gods of those nations able to rescue their people from my power? 14 Which of their gods was able to rescue its people from the destructive power of my predecessors? What makes you think your God can rescue you from me? 15 Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you! Don’t let him fool you like this! I say it again–no god of any nation or kingdom has ever yet been able to rescue his people from me or my ancestors. How much less will your God rescue you from my power!” 16 And Sennacherib’s officers further mocked the Lord God and His servant Hezekiah, heaping insult upon insult. 17 The king also sent letters scorning the Lord, the God of Israel. He wrote, “Just as the gods of all the other nations failed to rescue their people from my power, so the God of Hezekiah will also fail.” 18 The Assyrian officials who brought the letters shouted this in Hebrew to the people gathered on the walls of the city, trying to terrify them so it would be easier to capture the city. 19 These officers talked about the God of Jerusalem as though He were one of the pagan gods, made by human hands.20 Then King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to God in heaven. 21 And the Lord sent an angel who destroyed the Assyrian army with all its commanders and officers. So Sennacherib was forced to return home in disgrace to his own land. And when he entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons killed him there with a sword.22 That is how the Lord rescued Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from King Sennacherib of Assyria and from all the others who threatened them. So there was peace throughout the land. 23 From then on King Hezekiah became highly respected among all the surrounding nations, and many gifts for the Lord arrived at Jerusalem, with valuable presents for King Hezekiah, too. 2 Chronicles 32:1-23