July 1st deliberatePeople. post by Phil and Heather Joel + today's dP reading schedule:
Sunday, July 1, 2012 2 Kings 18:17-19:37/Acts 21:1-14/Psalm 149:1-9/Proverbs 18:8
Standout verse:
II Kings 19:14
“And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messenger and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.”
The FIRST thing Hezekiah did when he heard Sennacherib’s threats was to go before the Lord and cry out to Him for help. Hezekiah knew that to withstand the barrage of verbal intimidations and threats from his enemy, he’d have to keep his eyes focused on God and fix his hope squarely on Him knowing that only by the Lord’s mighty hand his people would be delivered.
Earlier in 2 Kings 18:36, we see how Hezekiah wisely instructed the people not to enter into a dialogue with the enemy, “but the people held their peace and answered him (King Sennacherib) not a word; for the King’s commandment was, ‘Do not answer him” - Another great piece of advice! Instead of spending time conversing and reasoning with the enemy and his array of lies (which makes us vulnerable to falling for them), we should be using that same time and energy to seek God for His wisdom and strategies that will surely take out any attack forged against us.
As we face challenges, whether they are verbal slander, discouragement, financial troubles, etc…let us learn from Hezekiah’s model of wisdom: Instead of instantly running to people for help and/or ‘over-talking’ our circumstances to others, let us first go to our heavenly Father, lay out our situation before Him, and seek His heart, mind and will for the challenge we are facing.
Reader Comments (1)
Yep. Good course of action to consider, for future reference. Thank you for laying it out in that way--very practical :)
Ps.149:4 "For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation."
II Kings 19:30 "And the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward."
God can do so much with humility, as opposed to trying to elevate ourselves, in our own power. He brings beauty, rescues us, takes pleasure in us :) Hard times force our roots to grow deep, in the fertile ground of adversity. And later on, God lifts us up, causing our lives to bear fruit, upward. Pretty cool imagery!