The Upper Room Devotion for Wednesday April 3, 2024, was written by Catherine Kwao of Greater Accra Region, Ghana.
Scripture
1 When King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. 2 And he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 It may be that the Lord your God heard all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.” 5 When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me. 7 I myself will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.’ ” 8 The Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah; for he had heard that the king had left Lachish. 9 When the king heard concerning King Tirhakah of Ethiopia, “See, he has set out to fight against you,” he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus shall you speak to King Hezekiah of Judah: Do not let your God on whom you rely deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11 See, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, destroying them utterly. Shall you be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my predecessors destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivah?” 14 Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; then Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said: “O Lord the God of Israel, who are enthroned above the cherubim, you are God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. 16 Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. 17 Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, 18 and have hurled their gods into the fire, though they were no gods but the work of human hands—wood and stone—and so they were destroyed. 19 So now, O Lord our God, save us, I pray you, from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Lord, are God alone.”
2 Kings 19:1-19 NRSV
Author's Thoughts
"Mommy, it's growing!" my young daughter exclaimed. "Let me see," I said, grabbing the plastic cup from her hands. I was amazed. The maize seed we had been watering for weeks had finally germinated. It was a school project she was due to submit the following week. I had given up hope after eight days and was planning on dumping the whole thing into the trash that morning. I even once said to her, "It's a useless waste of time and water," to which she replied confidently, "My teacher says it will grow." And it sure did. No wonder Jesus says in Luke 18:16 that we must have childlike faith.
My daughter trusted in her teacher's words and kept on watering the soil long after I had given up. In the same way God wants us to hold on to faith even when we're discouraged by the current situation. King Hezekiah was on the verge of despair when he received a second threat in writing from the Assyrian king, even though God had assured him of deliverance. To quell his despondence, he told God about it personally, and God delivered him and the whole of Jerusalem. So like King Hezekiah, let us continue trusting in the word of the Lord because God is always faithful.
Author's Prayer
Dear God, may our confidence in your word be steadfast. Amen.
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