For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18
2 Kings 20:1-11
Are you afraid to ask too much of God? Some people are. We think of the possibilities in terms of our capabilities, our bank accounts, and the physical. We can tend to think of The Lord in terms of how we understand people, our earthly fathers, our pastors, authority figures, and peers. But those people are humans and they have limits. God does not have limits and understanding that as well as His deep love for us is key to being able to respond to circumstances in faith. Maybe we need to change our perspective from the visible world to the spiritual one (2 Corinthians 4:18). Hezekiah knew that nothing is impossible for God. Verse 1 reads,
“In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.’”
Imagine hearing from All-knowing God that you will die. What would your reaction be? Would you do as He said and get your affairs in order? Hezekiah didn’t do that. Verses 2-3 record his response.
“Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3 “Now, O Lord, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.”
He did not want to die. He didn’t accept that he had to die, even though it was The Lord who told him he would. He prayed. He talked to the Lord and told Him he didn’t want to die. He appealed to The Lord and asked Him to remember his faith. He did not assume God would let him live. He came before his Lord in humility and simply told Him that he didn’t want to die.
How did God respond? Did he send lightning down on the king and kill him? Did He roar and send an earthquake to destroy his house? No, He responded with mercy and love. Verses 4-7 read,
“And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord, 6 and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David's sake.” 7 And Isaiah said, “Bring a cake of figs. And let them take and lay it on the boil, that he may recover.”
God responded immediately. Isaiah had not even left the palace yet before The Lord sent him back to answer Hezekiah. Not only would He give the king fifteen more years, He would deliver Jerusalem from Assyria. He wouldn’t do it to glorify Hezekiah, He would do it for His own glory. He would do it because He had promised David.
Hezekiah was ready to obey and he asked Isaiah for s sign. He tested the prophecy. He did not automatically assume that every word Isaiah said was The Lord’s. Verses 8-11 say,
“And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the Lord on the third day?” 9 And Isaiah said, “This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he has promised: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?” 10 And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to lengthen ten steps. Rather let the shadow go back ten steps.” 11 And Isaiah the prophet called to the Lord, and he brought the shadow back ten steps, by which it had gone down on the steps of Ahaz.”
Once again Hezekiah wasn’t afraid to ask for more. Moving the sun at all is huge! But Hezekiah asked for the harder sign, one that couldn’t be attributed to miscounted time or weather, to make the sun go in reverse! He knew that God can do anything, nothing is too hard for Him, nothing. And God did it.
Are you afraid to ask too much of God? God’s resources are limitless. His mercy is never-ending. His love is infinite. Romans 11:32-36 reads,
“For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
He is not disappointed in you, He loves to show you mercy. He loves to give you good gifts and nothing is too big (James 1:17-18). He created the universe. He made you. Psalm 136:4-9 says,
“to him who alone does great wonders,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
5 to him who by understanding made the heavens,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
6 to him who spread out the earth above the waters,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
7 to him who made the great lights,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
8 the sun to rule over the day,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
9 the moon and stars to rule over the night,
for his steadfast love endures forever;”
Believer, nothing is too big to ask for. If your motivation is to glorify The Lord, He will give it to you. If it is good for you, He will give it to you. In John 14:11-14 Jesus said,
“Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
Did He say ‘you will do some of the things I did and if you ask me for something manageable I might do it?’ No! You will do the works He does and more! You can ask anything and He will do it! Go ahead, believe God is The LORD your maker. Go ahead and believe He is who He says He is. Nothing is impossible for Him. Trust Him and let Him show you and the world how much He loves you and them.
Are you afraid to ask too much of God? Some people are. We think of the possibilities in terms of our capabilities, our bank accounts, and the physical. We can tend to think of The Lord in terms of how we understand people, our earthly fathers, our pastors, authority figures, and peers. But those people are humans and they have limits. God does not have limits and understanding that as well as His deep love for us is key to being able to respond to circumstances in faith. Maybe we need to change our perspective from the visible world to the spiritual one (2 Corinthians 4:18). Hezekiah knew that nothing is impossible for God. Verse 1 reads,
“In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.’”
Imagine hearing from All-knowing God that you will die. What would your reaction be? Would you do as He said and get your affairs in order? Hezekiah didn’t do that. Verses 2-3 record his response.
“Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3 “Now, O Lord, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.”
He did not want to die. He didn’t accept that he had to die, even though it was The Lord who told him he would. He prayed. He talked to the Lord and told Him he didn’t want to die. He appealed to The Lord and asked Him to remember his faith. He did not assume God would let him live. He came before his Lord in humility and simply told Him that he didn’t want to die.
How did God respond? Did he send lightning down on the king and kill him? Did He roar and send an earthquake to destroy his house? No, He responded with mercy and love. Verses 4-7 read,
“And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord, 6 and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David's sake.” 7 And Isaiah said, “Bring a cake of figs. And let them take and lay it on the boil, that he may recover.”
God responded immediately. Isaiah had not even left the palace yet before The Lord sent him back to answer Hezekiah. Not only would He give the king fifteen more years, He would deliver Jerusalem from Assyria. He wouldn’t do it to glorify Hezekiah, He would do it for His own glory. He would do it because He had promised David.
Hezekiah was ready to obey and he asked Isaiah for s sign. He tested the prophecy. He did not automatically assume that every word Isaiah said was The Lord’s. Verses 8-11 say,
“And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the Lord on the third day?” 9 And Isaiah said, “This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he has promised: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?” 10 And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to lengthen ten steps. Rather let the shadow go back ten steps.” 11 And Isaiah the prophet called to the Lord, and he brought the shadow back ten steps, by which it had gone down on the steps of Ahaz.”
Once again Hezekiah wasn’t afraid to ask for more. Moving the sun at all is huge! But Hezekiah asked for the harder sign, one that couldn’t be attributed to miscounted time or weather, to make the sun go in reverse! He knew that God can do anything, nothing is too hard for Him, nothing. And God did it.
Are you afraid to ask too much of God? God’s resources are limitless. His mercy is never-ending. His love is infinite. Romans 11:32-36 reads,
“For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
He is not disappointed in you, He loves to show you mercy. He loves to give you good gifts and nothing is too big (James 1:17-18). He created the universe. He made you. Psalm 136:4-9 says,
“to him who alone does great wonders,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
5 to him who by understanding made the heavens,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
6 to him who spread out the earth above the waters,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
7 to him who made the great lights,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
8 the sun to rule over the day,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
9 the moon and stars to rule over the night,
for his steadfast love endures forever;”
Believer, nothing is too big to ask for. If your motivation is to glorify The Lord, He will give it to you. If it is good for you, He will give it to you. In John 14:11-14 Jesus said,
“Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
Did He say ‘you will do some of the things I did and if you ask me for something manageable I might do it?’ No! You will do the works He does and more! You can ask anything and He will do it! Go ahead, believe God is The LORD your maker. Go ahead and believe He is who He says He is. Nothing is impossible for Him. Trust Him and let Him show you and the world how much He loves you and them.
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