2 kings 20:5-7 - "Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of
my people, 'This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have
heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal
you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the LORD. I will add fifteen years to your life. And I
will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will
defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant
David.' " Then Isaiah said,
"Prepare a poultice of figs." They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered.
Hezekiah was very sick…somehow from the infection of a boil.
And Isaiah had come to tell him that he should get his house in order…he would
not recover…he was dying …soon. So
Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed…just as he had done throughout
the rest of his life. He cried out to
God…and asked him to remember that he had tried to follow his rules and please
him all his life.
God heard his prayer….and saw his tears…and told Isaiah to
go tell him that he had decided to not just heal him…but add 15 more years to
his life. As a bonus he was going to hand him a victory over the Assyrian king…and
defend the city against his attacks. A
simple poultice of crushed figs pulled the infection out of the boil…and
Hezekiah had one more miracle to add to the stories he could tell those about
his awesome God.
Hezekiah did not pray…spare me Lord….he said “remember me.”
Like the criminal on the cross who used the same words….Hezekiah knew he was
not worthy of asking God to heal him…so he simply ask him to remember him…so
his close relationship with God could continue after he had died. Hezekiah
could only handle dying…if he knew he could spend more time with his Lord.
I believe it was the
humbleness of his heart that caused God to change his mind. He restored his
health and added even 15 years to his life. God saw straight into that humble
heart…saw the love that Hezekiah had built over the years of his life…and his
own heart broke when he saw the tears Hezekiah cried at the thought of being
separated from his Lord.
It is a reminder to me to draw even closer to God….and love
him with my whole heart and mind and soul. I need to love God so much that any
tears I cry aren’t because I would miss the world…but because the thought of
life without God would be unbearable.
The verses remind me that God sees straight into my heart when I hurt…and
knows the reason for my tears. And if wiping the tears away will add purpose to
my life…and give him glory…he might just wipe them away…and heal my hurt….and
give me new life for a season…like he did Hezekiah.
Father…I thank you for the love Hezekiah modeled for me in
this story. Help me to love you with all
that I have…so that when you look into my heart…you see the fear I have of life
without you. I thank you for reminding me that my own pain has purpose…that you
saw my tears and used them to draw me into a deeper relationship with you. Remember me….and show me how to love you on
the deepest level I can…so my heart is sold out to you and not the world. Amen.
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