The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 18:5-7,13,
"Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook... In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah's reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them."
Following King Solomon, there was none better in Judah than King Hezekiah. We are told he held fast to the Lord and the Lord was with him. That being the case, why did Hezekiah suffer the humiliation of the loss of all the fortified cities of Judah?
Somewhere along the line these days, the notion has sprung up that if we please the Lord everything will go well in our lives. Easy street. God has a wonderful plan for our lives: if we trust in him he will take away all of our problems, all of our frustrations, all of our challenges. He loves us, right? Since he does, then he doesn't want us sick or poor, dies he? Since we are his children he wants to take away all of our problems, right?
That kind of thinking comes from outside the Scriptures. None of it is true. Yes, the Lord does love us and he does care for his own. But to extrapolate that beyond the Scriptures is a fool's errand and only results in less mature believers becoming disillusioned and disappointed. Believers in Jesus Christ perhaps suffer more harm, more disappointment, more challenge, more difficulty than many others.
Consider a few passages: "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline." Revelation 3:19. "'My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.' Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children." Hebrews 12:5-7.
How about this passage: "Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions." Hebrews 10:32-34.
The mindless notion that if we do good, we will experience only what we define as "good" in our lives is misplaced. It ignores the agenda the Lord has of building his kingdom and that the part we may play in it just may be painful from time to time.
Maturity brings with it the understanding Paul points us to, "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." Romans 8:36.
"Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook... In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah's reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them."
Following King Solomon, there was none better in Judah than King Hezekiah. We are told he held fast to the Lord and the Lord was with him. That being the case, why did Hezekiah suffer the humiliation of the loss of all the fortified cities of Judah?
Somewhere along the line these days, the notion has sprung up that if we please the Lord everything will go well in our lives. Easy street. God has a wonderful plan for our lives: if we trust in him he will take away all of our problems, all of our frustrations, all of our challenges. He loves us, right? Since he does, then he doesn't want us sick or poor, dies he? Since we are his children he wants to take away all of our problems, right?
That kind of thinking comes from outside the Scriptures. None of it is true. Yes, the Lord does love us and he does care for his own. But to extrapolate that beyond the Scriptures is a fool's errand and only results in less mature believers becoming disillusioned and disappointed. Believers in Jesus Christ perhaps suffer more harm, more disappointment, more challenge, more difficulty than many others.
Consider a few passages: "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline." Revelation 3:19. "'My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.' Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children." Hebrews 12:5-7.
How about this passage: "Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions." Hebrews 10:32-34.
The mindless notion that if we do good, we will experience only what we define as "good" in our lives is misplaced. It ignores the agenda the Lord has of building his kingdom and that the part we may play in it just may be painful from time to time.
Maturity brings with it the understanding Paul points us to, "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." Romans 8:36.
Both the work the Lord does in our lives, and, at times, the things he may want to accomplish through us, may be very painful at times. It could very well be that the greatest blessing we ever receive from the Lord is given when we are in the most painful position we find ourselves in.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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