Hezekiah, king of Judah, is listed as one of the few kings from Israel’s pre-Babylonian captivity days who is described as having had a close relationship with God. This zealous king became keenly aware of the disobedience in Judah, and therefore made the decision to “clean house.” He ordered the destruction of altars that had been built for idol worship, shattered statues, and did not even spare Nehushtan –  the bronze snake used by Moses in the wilderness – because the people stopped looking at it as a reminder of God’s faithfulness and started worshipping it as an idol (2 Kings 18:4).

He cleaned and reopened the temple, which had been shut close by Ahaz, his unfaithful father; and reinstituted the Passover as a national holiday.

Revival descended upon the Southern Kingdom.

Judah was located between two world powers: Egypt and Assyria. Both countries wanted to control it because it was in the middle of a trading route to the Middle East; therefore, the nation that controlled Judah would have an economic advantage over its rivals.

When Hezekiah took the throne, the Assyrian King Sennacherib had besieged Jerusalem. And so, refusing to have the same fate as the northern Kingdom of Israel, which had been taken into captivity by the Assyrian king, king Hezekiah made a courageous move and rebelled against Assyria. He trusted God in the battle, thus defeating the Philistines (2 Kings 18:7).

But something went terribly wrong. Hezekiah became proud of his accomplishments. Later, he unwisely paraded his wealth to the Babylonian delegation, inciting greed in the heart of the Babylonian king (2 Kings 20:12-19). Thus, Babylon, a mighty military power, included Judah in the list of nations to conquer.

As we read on, we see the avalanche that happens when someone once faithful and favored by God, allows pride and unbelief to grasp his or her heart: the Prophet Isaiah tried to warn the King, but to no avail (Isaiah 30-31). Hezekiah took matters into his own hands. In an attempt to secure Judah’s borders, he sought a secret defensive alliance with Pharaoh against Sennacherib of Assyria, thus inciting an entire nation’s rebellion against God, once again.

The Jews started listening to anyone but God. Rather, they secretly sought refuge in the Egyptian’s military prowess.

The “secret” alliance was no secret to God. And so He speaks through Isaiah to the obstinate people:

“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen, because they are very strong, but they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord! (…) Now the Egyptians are men and not God, and their horses are flesh and not spirit; (…) ” Isaiah 31:1, 3(a)

Judah chose to trust a strange, idolatrous nation for help when all they needed was to believe and trust God.

History repeated itself in the Southern Kingdom.

It repeats itself in many believer’s hearts today.

So many of us go through seasons of great trust in the Lord. We watch His mighty hand at work or recall His wonderful deeds in our lives, and because we choose to walk closely with Yahweh through daily communion with Him, we feel empowered by the memories of times of deliverance, provision and strength. We vow to “clean the temple” and trust in God for all our needs. Those are our Hezekiah, “Part I” moments.

But isn’t it true that the moment we move our eyes from His face, whether because we fail to seek Him daily or allow sin to take over our lives, it becomes easy to see our circumstances as too big for God to handle? Call those our Hezekiah, “The Sequel” moments, if you will. We all have them.

# 1 – We seek the help of “Egypt” instead of quietly relying on God for deliverance.

# 2 – We lean on our own understanding instead of “trust in the Lord with all our heart, in all our ways acknowledge Him,” and quietly wait for Him to “direct our path.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 – paraphrased)

# 3 – We become impatient, anxious, and consequently, make hasty decisions.

And we do all these things while God sits on His throne, hands full of promise and power to deliver us from every.single.circumstance.

“As the lion or the young lion growls over his prey, against which a band of shepherds is called out, and he will not be terrified at their voice nor disturbed at their noise, so will the Lord of hosts come down to wage war on Mount Zion and on its hill.” Like flying birds so the Lord of hosts will protect Jerusalem. He will protect and deliver it; He will pass over and rescue it.” Isaiah 31: 4-5

Oh, Father, help our unbelief!

Help us to open our eyes and see our anxiety for what it is – lack of trust! Faith failure!

Lord, Help us to open our eyes and see our anxiety for what it is – lack of trust! Faith failure! #MondayDevotional #MondayMotivation
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Open our eyes that we may see You as our just, compassionate and mighty King, Who is never deterred by the size or strength of our enemies!

Help us to see the Lion of Judah reigning over us, unphased by the chaos of our surroundings, and ever ready to defend our territory, if only we quiet our spirits long enough to let Him!

Help us to see the Lion of Judah reigning over us, unphased by the chaos of our surroundings, and ever ready to defend our territory, if only we quiet our spirits long enough to let Him!
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Take heart, my friend! The Lion of Judah roars over your circumstances today; nothing and no one can stand against Him.

Take heart, my friend! The Lion of Judah roars over your circumstances today; nothing and no one can stand against Him. #MondayDevotional #MondayMotivation
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The post The Lion Is On Your Side! {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP} appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.

“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened.” — Winston Churchill

Aneurin Bevan, also known as Nye Bevan, was a Welsh Labor Party politician who acted as minister of health in Great Britain’s post-war government between 1945 and 1951.

During his time as a politician, he became known as a harsh critic of those whom, he believed, “opposed the working man.” Among others, Prime Minister Winston Churchill was a primary target of his verbal attacks. The ideological differences between the two gentlemen created animosity that became widely known in the political arena, as well as to the public in general.

Late former Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker told the story of the day Winston Churchill, sitting in the House of Commons, received the message that his enemy, Nye Bevan, had just died. After receiving the news, Churchill bowed his head: “A great man, a brilliant man, a tragic loss,” he muttered under his breath.

Some minutes later, a member of parliament came to Churchill to inform him that the press was waiting to get his “heartfelt opinion on Nye Bevan.”

Churchill thought for a moment, then looked up, circumspectly, and said, “Are you sure he’s dead?”

The Prime Minister, known for his severe demeanor and strong opinions, dreaded to be forced to act as a politician, instead of speaking his heart.

This story about Churchill somewhat reminded me of something that I personally struggle with.

I too find myself in a quandary when someone I love continually makes the wrong decisions. And the struggle becomes even harder, when the person in question does not take criticism in a positive way.

In such circumstances, we must decide: Do we ignore their bad choices, and even nod our heads in approval, or do we fearlessly speak up, confronting them with the truth?

Is love ignoring someone's bad choices, or does it mean we speak up,confronting them with the truth?
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It seems to be a no-brainer, doesn’t it? If we see someone we love heading for trouble, we warn them. That’s the right and loving thing to do.

But we all know this is easier said than done, mostly because defensive people usually justify their wrongdoing, sometimes even quoting the Bible and saying that “God told them” to do so and so.

I’m always amazed at the things God gets blamed for.
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Why even bother, right? Why should we tell the truth, no matter what?

I found my answer this morning, while reading a bible passage in the book of Second Kings.

Israel had been divided into the Northern and the Southern kingdom, and the two kings decided to join forces and fight against one of their enemies together.

As it had become the custom, they summoned 400 so-called prophets to inquire about their decision. All 400 false prophets encouraged the kings to gather their armies and take over the enemy’s territory. But then, Micaiah, a true prophet, boldly dared to deliver a completely different message: If they went into battle, they would certainly die.

Even though he knew the kings would not heed his counsel, he risked his life by going against the kings’ wishes, and chose to honor God’s word.

He chose to tell the truth, at all cost.

Telling the truth is not always a matter of life and death, as it was for the prophet. And sometimes — I get it — holding our tongue can be a wise, political move, as it was for Mr. Churchill in the death of his political adversary.

But when it comes to my family and friends, I am asking God to help me to be bold, and love them enough to confront them, rather than condoning their wrongful actions. I don’t ever want someone I love to one day look me in the eye, and say: Why did you not say something?

This article was published on Patricia’s weekend column for the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) on Saturday March 18, 2017.

The post LOVE Sometimes means confronting with TRUTH {Atlanta Journal Constitution} appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.