II Kings 19:3 “And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them to faith”.
This is Hezekiah’s leadership team talking to Isaiah, while if we remember, Hezekiah himself is walking up to the temple in sackcloth to kneel before the King of Kings. Hezekiah the king has sent a message to Isaiah the Prophet.
The message is about what is facing them – there is no attempt to deny, or even soften the facts. The words used for distress, rebuke and disgrace, carry a meaning of anguish of body and mind, of punishment, and of a loss of God’s favour. Hezekiah is both acknowledging the full weight of the facts of the situation facing all of Jerusalem, and at the same time reaching out to God personally, and in every other way that he knows.
Hezekiah feels the weight of his previous decisions, decisions to try and buy his way out of trouble (stripping God’s house of all its value), and his decision to try and negotiate his way out of trouble by aligning with Egypt. None of this has worked, and he feels like God’s judgement is coming to the door of Jerusalem.
Do you recognise the strategy? We have tried everything we know, everything we can think of to fix the problem, and nothing has worked, we end up poorer, more alone, more troubles on every side?
We have no strength left to go on fighting, there is no fruitfulness from our actions, and there seems to be calamity after calamity at the door.
It’s so real to many of us, this place that Hezekiah finds himself in – partly by his own hand. Will God still rescue him, even when it’s his own actions that have led him here?
Right now Hezekiah is actually in the best place he can be, humbling himself, alone before God, and seeking God’s word on the matters at hand. This place of brokenness is a place of new beginnings, of breakthrough, and of real victory for him as a king.
What about us, you and I? Are we ready to humble ourselves and seek God’s word? Are we ready to abandon our schemes and plans and stand alone trusting before God? What a beautiful and yet terrible place this is to be, and yet this is where real life is discovered.
Principle of Change 42 – it is never too late to turn to God.
Strength – Arranger – arrangers work well under pressure, lead others, and have the courage needed to make big changes.