SCRIPTURE: 2 Kings 20:5-6 ESV I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you, and three days from now you will get out of bed and go to the Temple of the Lord. I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my own honor and for the sake of my servant David.
THOUGHT: We all want a cure, don’t we? We cling to life as if it’s all there is. I get this and am all-too-human in my desire to avoid death. But Hezekiah’s tears and prayers are a warning sign to those of us determined to preserve life here at all costs – that’s because God answered Hezekiah’s pleas with fifteen extra years which the king didn’t use well. James’ words to the early church picked at the motives of the human heart, “Even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure (Js. 4:3 NLT).”
Here is a case where God answered “yes,” then kept his promise for the sake of his own honor and promises to David, even while Hezekiah invited dignitaries from Babylon into the palace, bragged about all his treasures, then responded to Isaiah’s next prophecy about Babylon later carrying off all those same treasures and making eunuchs out of some of his sons, by responding oh, that’s good – at least it won’t happen to me!
PRAYER: Lord, most of all, may your will be done. I realize my own motives are often a mixed bag. When I dread death, help me remember all the reasons to look forward to heaven.
asipoblog.com 