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Daily Devotion: Isaiah 37:1-2, 4 and 14

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Isaiah 37:1-2     "And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. (2)  And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz." 

Isaiah 37:4       "... wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left."

Isaiah 37:14     "And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD."

I have used various passages from Isaiah 37 this morning because it shows to us the pattern that we should use when we are facing difficult situations.  To bring us into focus, we remember that the King of Assyria had sent his army against the nation of Judah. They tried to use intimidation to bring doubt and fear into the hearts and minds of the people. That did not work. Then they tried to use temptation to turn the people away from King Hezekiah. That did not work. Now they were going to use force  in order to overtake the city, but first they felt the need to try to turn the people away from the Lord. They sent propaganda into the city that was written in the language of the people which came unto Hezekiah. This is where we pick up today's verses.

What was Hezekiah going to do? How would he respond to the attack upon his people? We see the first thing he did was to show great sorrow and concern. That was shown by the tearing of his clothes and wearing the clothes of the poor. Then he went into the house of the Lord. I'm sure he physically went into the house of the Lord, but there are times when we desperately need help, but cannot geographically enter into God's house. David spoke of dwelling in "the house of the Lord forever." It was not a matter of physically being in the house of the Lord; rather, to spiritually have our hearts and minds in the frame of thought where we know our need and feel the presence of the Lord. He then sent for the man of God, the Prophet Isaiah. He knew he needed prayer and support from others. It is important for us to be able to have someone in our lives that we feel comfortable sharing our need for prayer and knowing they will lift us up to the very throne of Heaven. Then Hezekiah "... spread it before the Lord."  We are encouraged to "come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."  Our Lord is faithful and I am so very thankful for that!

Leave It There by Charles A. Tindley
If the world from you withholds of its silver and its gold
And you have to get along with meager fare
Just remember, in his word, how he feeds the little bird
Take your burden to the Lord, leave it there

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