II Kings 19:11 “Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, devoting them to destruction. And shall you be delivered?”
The question at the heart of this statement by Hezekiah’s enemy is “will God come through for you?”. The enemy points to the facts, the weight of evidence and wants Hezekiah to crumble and admit defeat, giving up everything in the process.
There is some truth in what the enemy is saying to Hezekiah, and the enemy is skilled at bringing accusations and threats that contain an element of the truth. Hezekiah is aware of the facts and never tries to debate or deny these, rather his response is to take the threats and the concerns straight to God in prayer and to seek out a prophetic word, with a heart intent on obedience.
Neither does Hezekiah try to reason with the enemy or to gain an understanding of the enemy’s plans. He already knows the enemy’s strategy and tactics and that’s all he needs to know. His focus is never on the problem, his focus is always on God, God’s word, and God’s presence.
He reminds me of Nehemiah a little when he says to Sanballat and Tobiah (two sworn enemies of Israel who try to distract Nehemiah from his calling) that he is not stopping the work God has called him to meet with them.
What does this mean for you and me today? Well, there will be times of trouble and the enemy will try to distract us, dismay us, and disillusion us. Our response is to run towards our God, to keep our eyes on Him, to tell him everything, and to have faith that He will get us through every difficulty – Jesus, the one who has defeated death, is our helper.
Principle of Change 48 – Keep our eyes on Jesus in times of trouble.
Strength – Focus – stay focused on the important – our relationship with God, and don’t be distracted by the urgent.