Trust and Faith · God's Promises
Do We Feel Cornered? What Can We Do?
13 min read, approximately
“This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah: he did what was good, right, and true before the LORD his God. In everything he undertook in the service of God’s house, in accordance with the law and the commandments, he sought his God, worked wholeheartedly, and prospered.” (2 Chronicles 31:20-21)
Do we feel cornered, unable to see a way out? What can we do?
We are often shaken when countless calamities come crashing into our lives. We do not understand why they happen when we are praying, fasting, meditating on God’s Word, and keeping it. Again and again, we ask why God has allowed this to happen when we have chosen to set ourselves apart and live in holiness for him. Sadly, we tend to forget that:
\1. God Is Wise
“Oh, the depth of the riches of God’s wisdom and knowledge! How unfathomable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! For who has understood the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” (Romans 11:33-34)
\2. God Has a Plan
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)
\3. And Through That Plan, He Is Shaping Us
“I am convinced of this: the one who began a good work in you will bring it to completion until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)
So it all comes down to faith.
“I waited patiently for the LORD; he bent down to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of despair, out of the muddy mire. He set my feet on a rock and made my steps firm. Then he put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see this and stand in awe, and they will trust in the LORD.” (Psalms 40:1-3)
King Hezekiah
Do we feel cornered, unable to see a way out?
We are not the first people to experience this… God’s Word tells us about a king who chose to do what was good and pleasing to God. That king was Hezekiah.
“Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abijah, daughter of Zechariah. He did what was right in the LORD’s sight, just as his father David had done.” (2 Chronicles 29:1-2)
From the First Year of His Reign, King Hezekiah Acted with Courage and Authority to Restore Praise and Worship of the Lord
“In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the LORD’s house and repaired them. He brought in the priests and Levites and gathered them in the eastern square. He said to them: Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now, and consecrate the house of the LORD, the God of your ancestors. Remove the impurity from the sanctuary.” (2 Chronicles 29:3-5)
_“_The Levites who immediately began the work were these: from the descendants of Kohath, Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah; … from those of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; and from those of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. First they gathered their relatives and purified themselves. Then they entered the temple to purify it, following the king’s order, which was in accordance with the LORD’s command. The priests then went into the temple’s interior to purify it. They brought all the unclean things they found inside the building out into the temple courtyard, and the Levites carried them to the Kidron brook.
And
“Then the Levites arose: Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah, from the descendants of Kohath; Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel, from the descendants of Merari; Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah, from the descendants of Gershon; Shimri and Jeiel, from the descendants of Elizaphan; Zechariah and Mattaniah, from the descendants of Asaph; Jehiel and Shimei, from the descendants of Heman; and Shemaiah and Uzziel, from the descendants of Jeduthun. They gathered their brothers, consecrated themselves, and went in to cleanse the LORD’s house, according to the king’s command and the LORD’s words. The priests entered the LORD’s house to cleanse it and brought all the impurity they found in the LORD’s temple out into the courtyard of the LORD’s house. The Levites took it and carried it outside to the Kidron brook. They began the consecration on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of that month they reached the LORD’s portico. They consecrated the LORD’s house in eight days and finished on the sixteenth day of the first month. Then they went to King Hezekiah and said: We have cleansed the entire house of the LORD, the altar of burnt offering with all its equipment, and the table for the bread of the Presence with all its utensils. We have also prepared and consecrated all the vessels that King Ahaz had misused during his reign in his unfaithfulness. They are now before the LORD’s altar.” (2 Chronicles 29:12-19)
He Was a Man Who Was Eager to Please God, and His Example Inspired the People to Do the Same
“There were many burnt offerings, together with the fat of the peace offerings and the drink offerings for each burnt offering. Thus the service of the LORD’s house was restored. Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced that God had prepared the people, for it had all happened quickly.” (2 Chronicles 29:35-36)
He Cleansed All Jerusalem of Its Impurity
“He removed the high places, broke the sacred images, cut down the symbols of Asherah, and smashed the bronze serpent Moses had made, because until then the Israelites had been burning incense to it. He called it Nehushtan.” (2 Kings 18:4)
And as If That Were Not Enough, He Celebrated the Passover Again!
“The whole congregation of Judah rejoiced, along with the priests and Levites and all the people who had come from Israel, as well as the foreigners who had come from the land of Israel and those living in Judah. There was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for nothing like it had happened there since the days of Solomon son of David, king of Israel. Then the priests and Levites stood and blessed the people. Their voices were heard, and their prayer reached his holy dwelling place in heaven.” (2 Chronicles 30:25-27)
He Was a Great Man of God!
“He put his hope in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after him. He followed the LORD and did not turn away from him, but kept the commandments the LORD had given Moses. The LORD was with him, and wherever he went, he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. He also defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its borders, from the watchtowers to the fortified city.” (2 Kings 18:5-8)
Everything was going wonderfully for him. However,
“After these things and this faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He camped against the fortified cities, intending to conquer them.” (2 Chronicles 32:1)
What?! How could this happen?! How would we feel? What would we do? Would we give way to despair? Would we feel cornered?
Cornered Like King Hezekiah?
Let us learn from what King Hezekiah did:
\1. He Recognized the Real Problem
His main problem was not the king of Assyria; it was discouragement! Discouragement blinds and weakens us until we give up. King Hezekiah addressed this problem because he knew what God had placed within him:
“For God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power, love, and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
Then:
“With renewed determination, Hezekiah rebuilt all the broken walls, raised the towers, and built another wall outside. He also strengthened the Millo in the City of David and made many swords and shields.” (2 Chronicles 32:5)
\2. He Declared over the Problem That God Is Far Greater!
Many of us tend to magnify the problem instead of declaring God’s greatness in the face of it… But what if I cannot see the solution? Let us remember:
“Without faith it is impossible to please God, because whoever approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
“He appointed military commanders over the people, gathered them in the square at the city gate, and spoke to their hearts, saying: Be strong and take courage. Do not be afraid or terrified of the king of Assyria or of the great army with him, for there is more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and fight our battles. The people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.” (2 Chronicles 32:6-8)
\3. He Cried Out to God When the Problem Grew Worse
“The seed sown on rocky ground represents the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. But it has no root within them and lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, that person immediately stumbles.” (Matthew 13:20-21)
When the Problem Grows, We Tend to Rely on Our Usual Practical Abilities… A Serious Mistake… ‘That Person Immediately Stumbles’!
The best solution will always be: ‘Call to me, and I will answer you and show you great and hidden things that you do not know.’ That is why:
_“_Shortly afterward, King Sennacherib of Assyria, who was besieging the city of Lachish, sent messengers with this message to King Hezekiah and the citizens of Jerusalem: ‘King Sennacherib of Assyria asks: Do you really think you can survive the siege of Jerusalem? What King Hezekiah is asking you to do is suicide, for if you remain there, you will die of hunger and thirst. Do not believe him when he tells you that the LORD your God will save you from my hands. Do you not realize that Hezekiah himself destroyed the idols and pagan shrines and ordered the people of Judah and Jerusalem to use only one altar and burn incense only on it? Do you not realize that I and the kings of Assyria before me have never failed, but have always defeated the nations we attacked? The gods of those nations could not save them.
And He Continued…
“After this, Sennacherib king of Assyria, who was at Lachish with all his forces, sent his servants to Jerusalem to say to Hezekiah king of Judah and to all the people of Judah who were in Jerusalem: Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria: In whom are you trusting as you remain besieged in Jerusalem? Is Hezekiah not deceiving you, handing you over to death by hunger and thirst, when he says: The LORD our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria? Was it not Hezekiah who removed his high places and altars and told Judah and Jerusalem: You shall worship before this one altar and burn incense on it? Have you not heard what I and my ancestors have done to all the peoples of the earth? Could the gods of the nations of those lands deliver their land from my hand? Which [god] among all the gods of the nations my ancestors destroyed was able to save his people from my hands? How, then, can your God deliver you from my hand? So now, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or persuade you of such a thing. Do not believe him, for if no god of all those nations and kingdoms could deliver his people from my hands or from the hands of my ancestors, how much less will your God be able to deliver you from my hand? His servants said still more against the LORD God and against his servant Hezekiah. He also wrote letters blaspheming the LORD, the God of Israel, and speaking against him, saying: Just as the gods of the nations of those countries could not deliver their people from my hands, neither will Hezekiah’s God deliver his people from my hands. They shouted loudly in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem on the walls, to frighten and terrify them so that they could capture the city. They spoke against the God of Jerusalem as they spoke against the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of human hands. But King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed about this and cried out to heaven.” (2 Chronicles 32:9-20)
\4. He Waited and Saw God’s Deliverance
Are we desperate? Are we uncertain? ‘Lord, we have already cried out, and we still do not see the answer! Lord, look—the problem is coming!’… The Lord reminds us that we must rest in him, find repose in him, and wait for him… So:
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.” (Psalms 46:10-11)
“and the Lord sent them an angel who destroyed the Assyrian army with all its officers and generals. Sennacherib returned to his land deeply ashamed. When he entered the temple of his god, his own sons killed him there. In this way the Lord saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem. At last there was peace in his kingdom. From then on, King Hezekiah was greatly respected among the neighboring nations, and many offerings for the Lord and valuable gifts for Hezekiah were brought to Jerusalem.” (2 Chronicles 32:21-23 NBY)
Do we feel cornered, unable to see a way out?
“For Scripture says: Whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” (Romans 10:11)
_**Remember to stop by the Songbook
May God continue to bless you, and may you continue to have a wonderful day in Christ Jesus!