May 1, 2022
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2 Kings 20:1-7
In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.
Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying,
I beseech Thee, O LORD, remember now 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.
And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.
And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for Mine own sake, and for My servant David's sake.
And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
For some people, time seems to move faster than a speeding bullet, and for others time can’t move fast enough. Still, for some, they wish they could turn back the hands of time, change the here and now, and in doing so possibly change the outcome of their future. The Bible provides us with an example of one such person who desired these things, in King Hezekiah, a most obedient and righteous king.
Hezekiah was near the point of death. He even had a word from God warning him to set his house in order because he was going to die. But the Bible says that Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed. One can imagine with him being on his death bed, Hezekiah probably could not get up to pray, and perhaps others were in the room with him, so he turned his head to the wall to pray to the Lord. Sometimes, you just have to stay right where you are and pray to God. And He will meet you right where you are, no matter where you are.
Hezekiah prayed and he beseeched the Lord. This means that he didn’t just ask of the Lord, He begged Him. Hezekiah pleaded with God to remember that he had walked before Him in truth and with a perfect heart and did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. We also see in the scriptures that Hezekiah wept sore, meaning he didn’t just cry, he sobbed and moaned in pain to the Lord.
Essentially, Hezekiah was asking God to turn back the hands of time. He didn’t’ want to die ahe wanted to be healed. What does God do? God sent word to Hezekiah through the prophet Isaiah, saying I have heard your prayers and seen your tears, and then I’m sure in what were the sweetest words to Hezekiah’s ears, God said behold I will heal thee.. and I will add 15 years to your life. Notice that Hezekiah didn’t ask for a specific number of years to live longer. But God was specific in His answer because God is always specific in His response to our prayers. So basically, God did what no one else could do, He turned back the hands of time. He changed Hezekiah’s present and then stepped into Hezekiah’s future to give him more time. Won’t He do it! Won’t He do it!
It may even be that like Hezekiah, God is allowing time to come to an end for something in your life that you’re not ready to end. Or you may feel that you have already ran out of time. You may have already lost your job, your car, your house. But trust God that this is not how the story ends. You may feel like you’re losing a battle with your health. Sometimes, you may even feel like you are losing your very mind. But trust God that this is not how the story ends. You may have a void from the passing of a loved one, or the end of a relationship, perhaps your marriage, or an unfulfilled dream and believe that void will never be filled. But trust and believe God that this is not how your story ends. God heals, God restores, God has the final word. God controls time.
Only God can turn back the hands of time. Only God can change your present and your future, adding to the time that you have left. God can give you back the time that you feel has been lost, to accomplish His will for your life. Only God can step into your future and change the course of time. Only God writes the story of your life - not man and not your circumstances.
So, it doesn’t matter what the bank says. It doesn’t matter what the doctor says. It doesn’t matter what the letter says. It doesn’t matter what happened or what’s happening. Beseech the Lord, cry out to God, trust Him, ask Him to turn it around, and have faith with all your heart, mind, spirit, and soul that this is not how your story ends.
Prayer:
Dear Father God,
Thank You Lord for being the Almighty Author of my life. Lord, You are Alpha and Omega, the beginning, the end, and all things in between. Lord, You hold time in the very palm of Your hands. You control all aspects of time. Lord, only You can turn back the hands of time. Only You can take away from time. Only You can make time stand still, and only You Lord can add to it. Father God, man lives by a universal clock, where everyone operates by the same laws of time. But O mighty God, You don’t operate by a universal clock, as You can turn back the hands of time for one, while keeping time still for another. And You can make time stand still for one, while it’s moving forward for another, because You operate on an individual level. Lord, just like Hezekiah, I beseech You with my request. Help me to hold fast to the fact that You and only You have the final word. Regardless of the situation, Lord, I claim in faith that this is not how the story ends. I give You all the glory, praise, and honor.
In Jesus mighty name I pray, Thank You Lord,
Amen
Copyright © 2022 Dr. Lou Ella V. Taylor PhD, CNS, RN