Daily Devotional

A Ministry of the Kerwin Baptist Church

May 14, 2018

by Pastor Hawtree

I AM PERSUADED THAT HE IS ABLE:

TO HELP ME WHEN I AM DESPERATE (part 4)

II Kings 20:4 And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying,

5 Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.

6 And I will add unto thy days fifteen years;

Here is Isaiah once again obeying what God told him to do, and saying what God told him to say. Notice how God is respectful of Hezekiah’s position as Captain, but God makes it clear that they are His people. Hezekiah may be captain, but God is King. Sometimes we can get a little big for our britches thinking we are captain over some things in our life. God can quickly remind us who is King if He has to.

So Isaiah brings some good news this time to Hezekiah. “Thus saith the Lord”. God answers Hezekiah.

(1)        “I HAVE HEARD THY PRAYER”

With all that was happening in Hezekiah’s life, he wasn’t sure if God was even going to listen. But God listens when His children are desperate. God may not always immediately respond when we pray, but He is always listening

(2) “I HAVE SEEN THY TEARS”

This is what changes things. God knew Hezekiah was serious, sincere, and broken. If you notice, God never says that he saw Hezekiah‘s walk or work. God never says that He noticed how honest Hezekiah had been, how holy Hezekiah had been, or how perfect Hezekiah‘s heart was. Everything that Hezekiah was trying to remind God about, that God had already seen, was not what impressed God. Hezekiah‘s brokenness got God’s attention. Yes, maybe God has seen your good works, but can God see that you and I are broken? Can God see that you and I are desperate?

(3) “I WILL HEAL THEE”

Can you imagine what that felt like to Hezekiah for God to say that. Here is a man that had been sick for a good while, found out that he was going to die, and then God tells him that he will heal him instead of killing him.

(4) “I WILL ADD UNTO THY DAYS”

This does not just mean just that God will add to the total number of days, this means that God will add to each day. It means God was going to make Hezekiah’s life fuller, longer, better, and more productive. God said that he would extend his life and make more of the life that he had extended. God can do that you know. God can add to our days. God can make the most of the time we have. It’s always a shame to speak with individuals that are getting ready to pass away and hear them speak of regret after regret of what they did not do, and what they did not do for God. God said he would give him 15 more years. Imagine if you knew that is exactly how long you have left. What would you do with it? How would you spend it? What would your priorities be? Oh dear friend, God can help when we are desperate. Maybe that is what we need to be!