I am reading a book right now (it’s actually one in a series of books) that is centered on the life of Hezekiah, and I am learning a lot from it. A major theme in it is how faithful and powerful God is. God is frequently referred to in these books as “Hezekiah’s God” or “God of Abraham”. The most absurd thought sneaked into my mind as I was reading. I was thinking, “Why can’t these people just have faith and trust God, and quit trying to solve problems by themselves? If I had such a powerful God on my side, I would….” Of course as soon as that thought crossed my pea-sized brain, I realized… duh… I do. My God – my ever present help in trouble – is the same God who led the Israelites out of Egypt. He is the same God that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob prayed to. My God and Hezekiah’s God are one in the same. He is no less powerful now than He was then. So why does He seem that way? I think one reason is that we have tried to put God in a box. People today (Christians and non-Christians alike) seem to think it is necessary to assign definitions and limitations to every little thing in this world, whether material or immaterial. But God cannot be packaged or defined. Nor can any limitations be placed on Him. He is indescribable and all powerful. There is no way to fit Him into some neat, tidy little container, only to pull Him out during our time of need.
The next thing I’ve learned is how important it is to be whole-heartedly devoted to God. You’re either in or you’re out. Either you’re committed to serving God with all your heart, soul, and mind, or you’re not. There is no in between. It is not an option to tell God “You can have control of these aspects of my life, but not this one piece. That piece I will keep.” Doesn’t work like that. You cannot maintain an attitude of self-reliance along with one of total dependence on God. God gets total, absolute, limitless control of your life, or it just won’t work. If you don’t make it a priority to become wholly dependent on God in all areas of your life, God may just help you out. Sometimes all it takes is a huge, life-shattering crisis to bring us to our knees, and back to God. Might be less painful just to go ahead and get there before He has to bring the big guns out. Just a thought…
The other thing I’ve learned is that you can’t make your own plans, and then expect God to bless those plans just because you ask Him to. At one point, Hezekiah was faced with the threat of an Assyrian attack. His advisors were instructing him to either offer a tribute to the Assyrians (essentially becoming their slaves), or to form alliances with neighboring nations. He sent for someone to find Isaiah the prophet, so that Isaiah could provide him with God’s answer. But he quickly learned that wasn’t the right way to do things. He had basically formed two plans, and was asking God to pick one of the options, and bless it, and make it work out the way he wanted. God rarely works like that. When Hezekiah offered God choice A and choice B, God chose choice C: none of the above. God wanted Hezekiah to do nothing. Squat. He wanted him to sit and wait and be patient. He wanted him to trust. Not in his political advisors or in any allies. He didn’t want him to put his trust into his own armies, or even make any efforts to fortify the city walls. He wanted him to be still and know that He is God.
Sometimes God asks us to get moving, to take big steps, and be willing to risk much. But sometimes all He asks us to do is to be still (and pray),and do nothing else. Sometimes He needs us to stay out of the way, so that He can do His thing. Doing nothing can sometimes be harder than doing something. At least when you’re doing something you can see the results of your actions. You feel you are being obedient to God by doing. So how do you know when God is telling you to DO and when He’s telling you to WAIT? That’s where it becomes so vitally important to be as close to Him as you can possibly be.
You know what it’s like when you’ve been spent a lot of time around a close friend. You become so familiar with their mannerisms, gestures, thought patterns, and common phrases, that you pretty much know what they’re going to say before they say it. You can finish their sentences. You even pick up some of their mannerisms and incorporate their way of thinking and speaking into your own. That’s how we should be with God. We should be so close to Him that we know when a thought or an idea is from Him. We should be so close to Him that we pick up his way of thinking, and His characteristics rub off on us. And so close that we are able to hear that still, small voice that many of us have lost touch with.
