Remember Me, Lord!Sýnishorn

My Faithfulness

Have you ever made a case for yourself when you really wanted something badly?  Maybe you tried convincing your parents you deserved a car because of your good grades. Or you tried talking your boss into a promotion.  It’s totally natural to try to sell our best qualities or accomplishments to someone when we want something.  

 So have you ever tried to bargain with God? It goes something like this:

• “God if you would just heal my son, I will serve you all the days of my life.”
• “God I’ve given my tithes and my time, and all I ask is for my daughter to return home.”
• “I’ve waited and trusted you for years, please bring my spouse!” 
• “I’ve been faithful to my husband and sacrificed my own desires for my family, will you please heal our broken marriage?”

Can you relate to any of these? We’ve all negotiated with God at some time in our lives, which is why today’s story is so good.

Hezekiah was one of Israel’s kings – and a good one. But one day, Hezekiah got extremely ill and was going to die.  In fact, the prophet Isaiah came to deliver the horrible news:

“This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”

2 Kings 20:1

Wouldn’t you freak out if you heard this doomsday news? Hezekiah did.  Weeping bitterly, he prayed, 

“Remember, LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.”

2 Kings 20:3

What’s awesome about this story is that God heard Hezekiah’s cry and granted his request to heal him even though Hezekiah pleaded his accomplishments to God.  The end result is that God healed Hezekiah and extended his life by 15 years.  You can check out his story in 2 Kings 20: 1 – 11, as he makes his case.  

Bargaining for yourself won’t always result in getting what you want from God.  As a good Heavenly Father, He’s going to give you what is best for you no matter what you do in life. His word reminds us that He makes all things good for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.  He sees you right where you are. He has not forgotten you. God is faithful. His word says so and you can always trust Him at His word.  

Questions:

1.  Have you ever tried to convince God to do something because of what you did for Him?  

2.  Was Hezekiah wrong to pray as he did?

3.  What have you learned about God and His character through this story?