Main Idea: There is nothing too hard for the Lord of Hosts, so His people should seek His help during hard times.
A Look at the Text:
Our text yesterday left off with a cliffhanger: the Assyrian army surrounded Jerusalem. They had destroyed the Judean countryside and had openly mocked their hope in God. In Sennacherib’s own account, Hezekiah was trapped in his capital city like “a bird in a cage.”[1]
To this, Hezekiah responded in the best way—he took his plight to God. He went immediately to the house of the Lord (2 Kings 19:1) and sent for Isaiah the prophet (2 Kings 19:2). He trusted that God had heard the words of the Rabshakeh (2 Kings 19:4).
The Assyrians then left for a short time, but sent a letter to Hezekiah, once again mocking his God. Once more, Hezekiah went into the house of the Lord. Spreading the letter before the Lord, he prayed (2 Kings 19:14-19).
Hezekiah believed that God was certainly powerful enough to deliver them, and most of all, that God would be glorified if He were to work a miracle on their behalf (2 Kings 19:19). God heard Hezekiah’s plea and sent a message through His prophet. He knew all about the Assyrian king, and he would turn them back to where they came from (2 Kings 19:28).
Then, that very night, the angel of the Lord destroyed 185,000 from the Assyrian army (2 Kings 19:35). When the “king of the world” returned home to Nineveh, he was then killed by his own sons.
Bringing it Home:
What seemed to be utterly hopeless and entirely impossible from a natural view was an easy task for the Lord of Hosts. Hezekiah is a great model of taking our needs to God in prayer as a first priority when facing desperate times. For Hezekiah, prayer wasn’t a last resort but the first stop in responding to an emergency.
It can be easy in life, when we are facing problems, to pursue all sorts of natural remedies. If we aren’t careful, we can exhaust every option before we even think of getting God involved.
Perhaps we simply don’t think of it. Perhaps we think God isn’t interested. Or, perhaps we don’t think God is capable. Yet the Scripture teaches us that God does care, and when things seem impossible to us, that is when God gets the greatest glory.
If we face a situation where we feel utterly helpless, let us remember our greatest help is found in God. This God is available to us in prayer. Through Christ, we can come with confidence to the throne of grace to find help in times of need (Heb. 4:16).
Let us then go first to Him. Let us make prayer to the all-powerful One our first stop, rather than a last resort.
Challenge:
What is my default response during hard times?
[1] John H Walton, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (Old Testament): 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009), 187.
Praise God for his omnipotence.