September 21

Where to Turn

Today’s Scripture Readings: Psalms 105:37-45 | Isaiah 37:1-38:22 | Galatians 6:1-18 | Proverbs 23:24

Today’s Scripture Focus: Isaiah 37-38

“O Lord Almighty, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. [17] Give ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God” (Isaiah 37:16-17 NIV). 

King Hezekiah was confronted by the threat of a huge army with a ruthless reputation. Assyria’s Field Commander (the Rabshakeh) brought a warning in which he mocked God and warned of great devastation. What is a King to do? 

His immediate reaction was to tear his clothes and cover himself with sackcloth. Humbling himself, he sought the Lord in prayer, going into the house of the LORD. He laid out his concerns before the LORD.

God sent word through Isaiah, the Prophet: “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard–those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. [7] Listen! I am going to put a spirit in him so that when he hears a certain report, he will return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword'” Isaiah 37:6-7 (NIV).

The threats continued. A messenger tried to cast doubt on the Word of the Lord, “Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the King of Assyria.”

In this classic confrontation between the Word of the Lord and the words of the accuser, what would Hezekiah do? He took the letter from the messenger and spread it out before the LORD. In prayer, he takes the situation to the LORD and rests in the character and promise of His God. He appeals to God’s glory and prays that God will work in such a way that all the kingdoms will know that “You alone are God.”

We too are often confronted by threatening circumstances, and words of the accuser who would cast doubt on the promise of God.  Don’t listen. Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Take the situation to God, spread it out before him and pray expectantly for God to work in a way that will reveal his glory.

Father, when I don’t know what to do, I cry out to you. I lay it all out before you and seek your wisdom. I am trusting you to work all things out in a way that reveals your glory and demonstrates that “You alone are God.” Amen.