2018

Spread it out before the Lord

I spoke in previous blogs about how I once suffered with anxiety. I also spoke about how God, and God alone, cured me from it. While God was curing me, I learned a good anxiety hack from Hezekiah. The story of Hezekiah can be found in 2Kings 18-20. In order to understand Hezekiah’s predicament, a very brief history lesson is necessary. King David and his son, King Solomon, ruled a unified Kingdom of Israel in its heyday. After King Solomon, the unified kingdom split into two kingdoms; the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah. By the time Hezekiah became king of Judah, both kingdoms were in decline. To make matters worse, during Hezekiah’s reign in Judah, the Assyrians conquered the Kingdom of Israel, and now they threatened to conquer the Kingdom of Judah. If anyone had a right to be anxious, it was Hezekiah.

King Sennacherib of Assyria sent a message to the people of Judah. In the message, among other things, were the following words, “Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?“

Hezekiah is anxious. His military is no match for Assyria, and now Sennacherib is trying to get the people of Judah to rebel against him.

His response is explained in 2Kings 19:14-19. Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.  And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God. It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God.”

Hezekiah spread it (the letter) out before the Lord, but he really did so much more. Hezekiah took not only his letter, but he also took his problems, his anxiety, and his fear, and he spread them out before the Lord. Now God already knows our problems, our thoughts, and everything else about us. However, He wants to have a personal relationship with us. He wants us to bring our problems and anxious thoughts. Then he wants us to spread them out before him. In other words, we need to tell Him about our problems like He is a friend.

So, the next time an anxious situation occurs, take it, and spread it out before the Lord.

And, if you’re curious, Sennacherib lost 185,000 men in one night. He retreated, and he was eventually assassinated by his own sons. The Assyrians never conquered Judah.

I’m ending all my posts with an invitation to accept Jesus. If you would like to accept Jesus, simply pray the following prayer or one like it: “Dear Lord, I’m a sinner. I acknowledge that You sent Your son, Jesus, to die for my sins. I humbly accept Your son, Jesus, and I now further acknowledge that I am forgiven of my past sins, my present sins, and my future sins.” If you prayed that simple prayer, you are saved. Now, you need to follow Jesus. Start reading your Bible. I would suggest starting with Matthew, reading all of the New Testament, then reading the Old Testament. Also, find a good church. Christianity was never meant to be done alone. You need to be in community with other believers.