Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during August 2022]

Walking through a town centre park recently we were stopped by the plaintive mewing of a kitten in distress. After searching through the bushes we eventually found it, some ten feet up a pine tree. It had climbed up, perhaps attracted by some birds, and now could not find a way out of the tree. Cats’ claws are well designed for climbing upwards but are not suited to an orderly descent, which is usually gravity assisted and under very limited control.

Do you ever find yourself in situations where you cannot see a way out? A taxi meter is clocking up more than you have in your pocket. At the supermarket checkout you find that your card has expired. Your boss wants you to take minutes of an important meeting but you have a problem remembering names. You have prepared intensively for an examination but you are caught out by the first question. (All these have happened to me.)

Hezekiah, king of Judah, received a final demand that he could not meet. Present economic indicators suggest that he will not be unique in that respect. How do we react when faced with bills that are excessive or interest rates that are extortionate? Does Hezekiah’s experience offer us any guidance?

By the time that Hezekiah received the demand he had already exhausted all his available resources. He had already tried to pay off his oppressors but they came back for more. His response may seem like desperation but it was the key to the solution:

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. 2 Kings 19 v14 [NIVUK]

Have you tried that? It may not make the problem smaller but it does offer greater peace of mind than cursing consumer watchdogs that have neither bark nor bite. In Hezekiah’s case God used a third party to bring relief. He can do the same for you, but do you believe it?

There are – at least – two other lessons that we can learn from the Biblical account of Hezekiah’s life; one positive, one negative.

On the positive side, Hezekiah introduced measures that would reduce the severity of any future problems, including the installation of a more reliable water supply. Are there actions or lifestyle changes that we could take now to alleviate the impact of harder times to come? In practical terms, are there low-priority expenditures that you could learn to live without?

On the negative side, Hezekiah grew complacent and started to credit himself with achievements that should have been acknowledged as God’s intervention. To whom do you ascribe the blessings that you have received?

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