Berean News for March 2004

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 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.”

Quite a story, isn’t it? Imagine being sick and then being told by a prophet of God that you had better get everything in order because you are about to die. Hezekiah, although a king, responded much like most of us would. He turned his face to the wall and prayed. He prayed and he wept. Remarkably, God changed His mind. The prophet Isaiah, already on his way out, is stopped and told by God to return to Hezekiah and tell him that God has seen his tears and has heard his prayer. He will not now die, but instead will get well in three days. And he is further told that God has added another fifteen years to his life.

In once again reading this story the other day, I stopped and wondered how I would respond if I were in a similar situation. Of course, I would be overjoyed at being informed that I would recover from my illness. And I would be really glad to know that I had another fifteen years to live, but it sure would be strange to know when I was going to die. Would my attitude and my life change as year by year I got closer to my death? And then I realized that fifteen years is not at all an unreasonable amount of time for me to have left. I’m sixty-one now. In fact, although I may have more than fifteen years left to live, it is also very possible that I may have less than that.

I don’t mean to sound at all morbid, but none of us knows how much time we have left. I could unexpectedly die at any time. Of course, so could you - - regardless of how old (or young) you now are. If you or I knew we were facing immediate death, would we panic? Would we feel we needed another fifteen years to get our lives in spiritual order?

Consider also this: All of us, often, I believe, pray “May Thy kingdom come and Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We pray for the return of our Lord so all this mess on earth can be finally straightened out. We pray for our Lord to return and resurrect our loved ones who have died. But suppose that prayer was answered tomorrow. Are you ready? What would your reaction be if you knew for certain that Christ was going to return tomorrow?

Each of us needs to examine where we are in our spiritual growth and maturity. Whether we have decades left, or only a few days, or another fifteen years should not matter. We should be living lives in submission to God’s will; we should be eagerly praying for and anticipating our Lord’s return; we should view all of our lives from a spiritual perspective.

I read recently the story of a 15-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating automobile accident.
The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn't understand why, after three months of training, the master had taught him just one move.
"Sensei," the boy finally said, "Shouldn't I be learning more moves?"
"This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know," the sensei replied. Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.
Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals. Only this time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened. "No," the sensei insisted, "Let the boy continue."
Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.
On the way home, the boy and the sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind: "Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?"
"You won for two reasons," the sensei answered. "First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm."
The boy could now understand that his biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.

We don't often view our weaknesses in the same way, but we should. I am reminded of the time that Paul prayed fervently for God to remove some affliction unknown to us, what he called a "thorn in the flesh." Refusing to remove it, The Lord said to Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor. 12:9a).

That seems to make no sense, and yet we see throughout the Bible how God is able to work despite the weaknesses of men and women, showing forth his power -- David with his small stature against Goliath the giant, Gideon a man of no significant background leading a greatly outnumbered band of men, Jesus taking on humanity in the form of a helpless baby. In fact, the greatest demonstrations of God's power have come when men and women have felt the weakest. Remember these things the next time you feel inadequate or vulnerable.

"Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.…..For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Cor. 12:9b-10)

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