Laying it out there
14. And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers,
and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and
spread it before the LORD.
15. And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of
Israel, which dwellest [between] the cherubims, thou art the God,
[even] thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made
heaven and earth.
16. LORD, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, LORD, thine eyes, and
see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to
reproach the living God.
17. Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations
and their lands,
18. And have cast their gods into the fire: for they [were] no gods,
but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have
destroyed them.
19. Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of
his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou
[art] the LORD God, [even] thou only.
Hezekiah upon reading this letter became deeply vexed. What was his comfort in
this time of trouble? He made haste to the house of the Lord, and spread out his
problem before the Lord. When was the last time you laid it all out there before
God?
We are quick to spread out our problems before our family. We unload on our
co-workers. We even tell our fellow church members. We take our problems to
anyone who will sympatize with us, yet are we taking it before God who alone can
provide real help?
I've found from the hard schoolmaster of experience that the matters that I
most need to spread before the Lord, I don't. I keep them to myself to vex me,
or I unload them to my wife or friend. Still, I don't bring them before my Lord
who awaits me that he might help me.
What happened when he spread out his problems before the Lord? In the next
verse God, through Isaiah, says "I have heard." He answers! All we have to do is
lay it out there in it's entirety before him and he will come to our aid. He
has never failed us yet! NOR COULD HE!
Why is it that we fail to lay it before the Lord? Is it that we are too full
of pride? Is it that we don't want to give up control? Is it we don't want to
admit our problems? Maybe we are just foolish? I can't answer that, but I can
say there is not a good reason not to spread it before him.
So Friend, no matter the problems you are facing, just lay it out before him
and await with eagerness the sweet sound of his voice whispering to your soul,
"I have heard."
