Be like Hezekiah by Pastor W.F Kumuyi
DAILY MANNA
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 01, 2024
BE LIKE HEZEKIAH
KEY VERSE: “And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore” (Isaiah 38:3).
TEXT: ISAIAH 38:1-8
Ted Williams was the highest paid baseball player during the 1950s. He was offered a whopping salary of $125,000 in 1959 even after he experienced a dwindling batting average due to a pinch on his neck. Surprisingly, Ted returned the contract to the Boston Red Sox and requested that his pay be reduced by as much as 25 percent. He said, “My feeling was that I was always treated fairly by the Red Sox when it came to contracts … now they were offering me a contract that I didn’t deserve.” His integrity made him a legend among the baseball players of his time.
Isaiah had been given an unpleasant message by God to a sick King Hezekiah; he was to set his house in order because he was going to die. Rather than resign to fate and accept the verdict as his destiny, Hezekiah presented his credentials before God and pleaded for a prolonged life. In consonance with the declaration that His people should “bring forth your strong reasons” (Isaiah 41:21), God answered Hezekiah’s prayer and added fifteen years to his life.
Hezekiah was confident enough to rehearse his life of righteousness before God despite the sentence of death pronounced on him. This credential is the totality of our walk with God. For it to be approved, we must live consistently holy life and maintain a robust relationship with the Lord. When our credentials are approved by God, we become conquerors on every side, enjoying His best at all times.
Believers must not resign to unpleasant fate in the belief that it is God’s will. Rather, we are to confidently walk acceptably before God even in the face of daunting challenges. Righteousness moves the hand of God to perform the seemingly impossible.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: The confidence of the righteous shines brightest at the throne of grace.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: DEUTERONOMY 1-3
