Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to ourchristianwalk@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of Hezekiah’s illness. Hezekiah received the envoys and showed them all that was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices and the fine olive oil—his armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.
Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did those men say, and where did they come from?”
“From a distant land,” Hezekiah replied. “They came from Babylon.”
The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”
“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”
Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
“The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?”
As for the other events of Hezekiah’s reign, all his achievements and how he made the pool and the tunnel by which he brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? Hezekiah rested with his ancestors. And Manasseh his son succeeded him as king.
2 Kings 20:12-21
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Have you ever faced a difficult situation and found yourself wondering how you should feel about it?
Today, I received a phone call and was told I was being tasked with an important responsibility that would take me from my place of work and my family for six weeks. In a moment’s notice, all my plans were disrupted…my future professional and personal schedule placed in total disarray.
My immediate reaction was not positive as I wasn’t asked whether I would like to do this task or not. Rather, I was hand-selected to do it…expected to just accept the assignment without argument. My thoughts were centered on the following:
“Why me?”
“Isn’t there someone else who is less busy than I am available?”
“They picked me only because they know I am a person who doesn’t complain and just gets the job done when asked.”
Note that none of these musings were positive. No…my attitude was definitely misaligned.
I was looking at the glass half-empty.
It’s easy to do if we’re not careful. Difficulty and sudden change is hard to deal with. We don’t handle being jarred from our comfort zone very well I’m afraid.
The southern kingdom of Judah was soon to be jarred from their comfort zone, taken into exile by the Babylonians for 70 years with all the riches in Jerusalem. Little did Hezekiah know this as he received “letters and a gift” from “Marduk-Baladan…king of Babylon” by way of special envoys sent to Jerusalem. Hezekiah, grateful for the caring gesture in the aftermath of his illness, proceeded to give the envoys a tour, showing them “all that was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices and the fine olive oil—his armory and everything found among his treasures”. In fact, scripture tells us that “there was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them”.
The Babylonian envoys had to be impressed as they left Jerusalem to return home and make reports to their king.
After they departed, we read where the prophet Isaiah came to Hezekiah with some questions asking:
“What did those men say, and where did they come from?”
“What did they see in your palace?”
Hezekiah went on to tell Isaiah that the representatives from Babylon had seen “everything in (the) palace”. Indeed, he had shown them everything.
Upon hearing this, Isaiah broke the bad news from God to Judah’s king:
“Hear the word of the Lord: The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left…and some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
Wow! Can you imagine hearing this? All of Judah’s riches and its people were going to be captured and taken away to a distant land. Nothing was going to be left in Jerusalem. It’s enough to make anyone think the worst and start to complain about the difficulties to come. It may even tempt a person to question God and His coming actions.
But look at what Hezekiah says, for his words are incredible.
“The word of the Lord you have spoken is good”…For he thought, “Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?”
At first blush, we could read this as Hezekiah being selfish.
“Why should Isaiah’s words upset me?”…he could have been thinking. “I’ll have peace and security as long as I will be alive. The Babylonians can come and do what they wish after that.”
After looking at this a little closer, I’m not sure this is what Hezekiah was thinking. It didn’t fit his character.
No, I think that Hezekiah’s words reflected a positive outlook on a difficult situation. In stead of adopting a negative, glass half empty attitude, Judah’s king instead chose to focus on the positive. He saw the glass half full. Yes, hard times were coming but until then there would be peace and security in Judah…and that was a good word spoken by the Lord.
Hezekiah could have counted curses but instead chose to count blessings.
Friends, we have a lot to learn from this. We can easily sit around and begrudge our circumstances and do it to the hilt. But is this really constructive and productive?
It isn’t.
For when we adopt this attitude, we only find ourselves wallowing in the midst of our own self pity. And that’s not where God wants us to be.
Instead, the Lord would want us to try and find the good in whatever challenge He brings. Maybe just maybe, He is ready to bless you through a trial, drawing you closer to Him and teaching you an important life lesson. Maybe just maybe, He is going to use you in the midst of hardship to be a blessing to someone else. And maybe just maybe, He’s seeking to draw you ever closer into your relationship with Him. For when things are going well, we have a tendency to forget God…forgetting that He is always richly blessing us in equal measure whether in good times or bad.
In closing, what is your life outlook?
Do you see the glass half empty or half full?
My hope is that if you always see the negative in your life’s circumstances, this word from 2nd Kings will be a timely one for you.
Stay encouraged always…in good times and bad…and commit yourself to adopting a glass half full attitude. It’s the one the Lord expects.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to ourchristianwalk@aol.com
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