Taking our cares to God

DAILY BIBLE READING:

Isaiah 37:1–38:22 
Galatians 6:1-18 
Psalm 65:1-13 
Proverbs 23:24

TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

Isaiah 37:14 (ESV) "Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD."

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

Have you ever felt overwhelmed at what seemed to be impossible circumstances? Maybe things even seemed utterly hopeless?

Sometimes, life can do that to us. We live in a broken world, after all.

Well, what is to be done? Friend, as we read in our Bibles today in Isaiah, we continue the story started yesterday in Isaiah 36. It gives incredible hope! It is a truth that we all need to remember.

Sennacherib, the supreme ruler over Assyria, sent his army to attack Hezekiah and the land of Judah. The battle wouldn't have even been close. There was absolutely no way that Judah could prevail.

What was Hezekiah to do? Throw up his hands in despair. No one could have blamed him if he did.

But he didn't.

While he was filled with despair and feelings of hopeless, he took the matter to the Lord. A letter had been written to clarify just how hopeless the situation was ... but Hezekiah took that letter to the Lord.

"Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD:" (Isaiah 37:14–15)

Did God already know what was in the letter? Yep.

Did Hezekiah inform God of anything He didn't already know. Nope.

But, God was pleased when Hezekiah brought the matter to Him, opened up the issue, told Him all about it, and explained what needed to happen.

Essentially, Hezekiah bore his soul to God. He expressed his fears. He expressed his feelings of hopelessness. But, he also said that God must move and that God could absolutely do something about the problem.

And God did!

Friend, do not settle into despair when life gets tough. It's easy to do. I have done it all too often. But, Christians have the powerful resource of prayer in times of trial.

Will God answer us quickly? No necessarily.

Will God grant our requests every time? No.

But, that's where faith comes in. We go to Him, tell Him what's going on, and then trust Him with the results.

Let's strive to live in victory today. If you are a Jesus-follower, then your Father is the infinite Ruler of the Universe, after all.