Inspired by Isaiah 37
In life, we face mountains. Sometimes I am guilty of looking at a mountain and thinking, “My God, I know you can move that, but how on earth are you going to move that?” I know I have human limitations and sometimes I forget that God does not operate within the confines of my limitations, or in fact within any limitations at all. Isaiah 40:28 says, “Do you now know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom”. Psalm 147:5 says, “Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit.” Our God has understanding in abundance, understanding that we as humans cannot even fathom. I may not understand how He works, but He does and that is what matters.
With that being said, Isaiah 37 is just a gem in scripture, where God again shows His faithfulness to fulfill His promises to His people, and how God answers the desperate prayers of His people. In Isaiah 37:6-7, Isaiah is the messenger of a promise that God makes to His people – that God will deliver His people (with Hezekiah as their leader) from the king of Assyria. They will emerge in victory, through the power of GOD. GOD will do the work here. Yet, Hezekiah continues to receive threats from the king of Assyria. To the point where Hezekiah receives a letter from the king of Assyria with the king of Assyria expressing his confidence that Assyria will emerge in victory.
Hezekiah’s response is documented in Isaiah 37:14-20 (noted below). It is so beautiful. Hezekiah responds by “spreading it out” before the Lord. He prays boldly for God to both listen and respond. He acknowledges the mountain before them, the power of the Assyrians, and how it truly seems like a victory against the powerful Assyrians does seem impossible through the hands of humans, yet He calls on God for deliverance because He understands who God is and what He has promised. In verses 35-37 we learn that Hezekiah’s prayers were answered, just as God promised they would be.
Part of what encourages me so much is the fact that Hezekiah never wavers on his confidence in God’s ability to fulfill what He has promised. Hezekiah’s prayer acknowledges that the Assyrians have been victorious over so many nations and people groups, yet Hezekiah is confident that God is on his side. He is confident that God will follow through because He is the ONE TRUE God. He basically lays out all of the facts and asks God what He's going to do about it.
I have to admit, I often look at the mountain and am guilty of becoming distracted by the climb – all the obstacles, the incline, the twists and turns. As a believer, I forget that God has promised a life that will bring glory to Him (whether or not that actually means a victory here on earth) and a life dwelling with Him in eternity because He is my Lord and Savior. All of these challenges in life seem significant now, but realistically they are a part of the journey towards God’s ultimate promises. I need to spread it all out before the Lord, and be confident that God WILL do what He has promised. That’s part of who He is – if He didn’t follow through on the things He has promised, He would not be true to His character.
Regardless of what I am facing here on earth, I know that I can lay it all at the feet of Jesus and have complete confidence of deliverance, whether it be here on earth or later in eternity. As a believer, I am promised victory because Christ paid the price once for all (See Hebrews 10:1-18). Jesus Christ lived His life perfectly, something that is impossible for any human to do, only to give up His life and die a gruesome and undeserved death for crimes He did not commit. After three days, He did what seemed to be impossible and was resurrected from the dead, demonstrating the ultimate victory over sin and death. What I have done has NOTHING to do with it - it is all about what HE ALREADY DID. I no longer fear the journey because, as a believer in Christ, I have the promise of the summit. THAT is the beauty of the Gospel. Spread it all out before the Lord and get ready for Him to work.
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Scripture References
Isaiah 40:28
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
The Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
And His understanding no one can fathom.
Psalm 147:5
Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
His understanding has no limit.
Isaiah 37:6-7
Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard – those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Listen! When he hears a certain report, I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.’”
Isaiah 37:14-20
Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God. It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Lord, are the only God.
Isaiah 37:35-37
“I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!”. Then the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning – there were all the dead bodies! So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.
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