When Your Back Is Against A Wall

"And so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord." Isaiah 37:1 The king of Assyria had sent messengers to King Hezekiah of Judah speaking threatening words of arrogance against the God of Israel, saying that no god of any land has been able to withstand the great power of Assyria, and the God of Israel won't be able to either. Hezekiah was one of the few good kings whom the Scriptures describe as one who "did right in the sight of the Lord." So how did he react to this ominous threat? Let's take a look at this first from the human standpoint. The Assyrians were greater and mightier than the armies of Israel. Hezekiah knew he was outdone. Now what would you expect a king to do in such circumstances? The history of Israel shows that what they usually did was to make alliances with Egypt or with whoever was the strongest in the region at the time, in order to have the combined strength to withstand more powerful armies. But not Hezekiah. King Hezekiah did not consult the Egyptians nor anyone else. No, he was faithful and he knew he needed God's solution. So he sent messengers to the prophet Isaiah seeking to know what direction God would give. And here was God's response; vs 6-7: "Thus says the Lord: 'Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Surely I will send A SPIRIT upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.'" There is a great principle developed here. What do you do when you're up against an insurmountable problem? Consult experts? Place your trust in advice given by friends? How sound can that advice be? If you consult five people, you might get five different answers. In the end, you are the one who has to make the decision and the wisest thing you can do is go to God FIRST. He is the only one who knows all the details of the story, the only one who knows you inside out, the only one who knows your enemy inside out, and the only one who knows the future. Throughout the Scriptures we are admonished to take everything to him FIRST. Why do people, then, seek counsel from anyone else but God? What an insult to one's Creator. Once you've brought your situation to the Lord and sought his counsel, THEN he may direct you to a resource. Or - he may deal directly with your enemy himself. I've seen him do it different ways at different times, but always successfully. God is faithful, and delights in showing this to his believers. But sadly, most turn to other sources when they have a problem. Oh what wisdom we miss when we keep God for second, or for last. Truly we need to remember the Scripture that says, "Without faith it is impossible to please him." "But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him." Hebrews 11:6 God wants you to seek him out on any subject whatsoever that comes up in your life. And if you will diligently seek him, and that means spending time with him until you get an answer from him, then you will see the faithfulness of God and he will reward you for honoring him by turning to him FIRST. Otherwise ...you're on your own.