MEMORIZE: And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. Isaiah 37:14
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Revelations 16-22, Proverbs 21
BIBLE STUDIES: Isaiah 37:10-14
King Hezekiah received a letter that troubled him greatly, one morning. I do not know what letter you have received. You may have received a letter from your lawyer; your wife of over fifteen years is filing for divorce. You may have received an email informing you that you were unsuccessful at a job interview. It could be that your exam results arrived and you performed poorly. Maybe you received a letter from your son’s school; they want to have a meeting with you to discuss something terrible your son did. You may have received a letter from your bank informing you that your loan application was refused. Yours could be a letter informing you that your permit application, to go and live with your husband abroad, has been rejected. Probably your letter has nothing to do with visa application or loan application; what happened was you received a notice of foreclosure on your mortgage. You may have received a letter from your doctor inviting you for a meeting; from the tone of the letter, you know all is not well. I remember a time in my life when i dreaded letters. I was out of job for few months so i could not keep up with my direct debits. Every letter i received reminded me of missed direct debits, failed standing orders, charges, bailiff, etc. I knew i was in debt and that really made me sad but the tone of the letters i was receiving, especially court orders, was as if someone was hitting the face of a wound.
On reading the letter, heaviness of heart fell on the king. It was as if someone zapped life out of him. He must have looked up to heaven and tears began to flow down his cheeks - utterly confused, not knowing whether to cry or scream or keep quiet. The contents of the letter made it look as if the Lord had forgotten him. King Hezekiah was a righteous man. He loved the Lord just like many of us and yet he received such a letter. After reading the letter, he did something wise. Isaiah 37:14 says, “And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.” The ‘spreading of letter before the Lord’ means utter surrender. The king was saying, "Lord, i know what Your word says. The content of this letter are not in consonance with Your Word. Please oh Lord; turn things around. This letter was meant to bring me sadness but Oh Lord, arise and give me joy.” He spread the letter before God in faith and prayed. Before he finished praying, the Lord spoke and fought for Hezekiah. Friend, spread that letter, you received, before the Lord in faith and pray to Him. Start by praising Him, (the devil wants to make you sad but disappoint him by praising Jesus – the Helper of the helpless). Thank Him for the things He has done for you in the past and pour out your heart to Him. Every time i received a letter of this sort, as i have received them in times past, i spread them before God and cry to Him. One way or the other, He would move people, situation, circumstances, and laws of the land, in my favour. The same God who did it for Hezekiah is still alive. He is still in the business of helping people and He will help you.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Someone out there has gone through what you are going through now or gone through something worse and the Lord delivered him. If He has done it before He will do it again.
PRAYER POINT: Father, as many as are down, please lift up their heads.
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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.
