Devotions

“Hezekiah … did what was good and right and true before the Lord his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he prospered” (2 Chronicles 31:20-21).

In so many words, Scripture is saying that Hezekiah was the greatest king Israel ever had. We are told that his heart was so set on the Lord that no king before or after him was like him. Then consider the very next verse: “After these deeds of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah; he encamped against the fortified cities thinking to win them over to himself” (32:1).

Note the opening phrase: “After these deeds of faithfulness …” This refers to all the good that Hezekiah had done: his walk of truth and holiness; his seeking of God; his cleaving to the Lord; his fight against sin and compromise; his deep prayer and trust; the national revival he led. In the wake of these blessed things, Scripture says, then the devil came in. Principalities and powers of darkness surrounded the righteous king and God’s people, waging an all-out war to bring them down and destroy their faith.

Yes, this all came about after the establishment of Hezekiah’s many ministries, which were stable, mature, well-grounded. Satan wasn’t wasting his powers on a weak, inexperienced, wavering child of God; he was aiming his most intense weapons at a spiritual giant. This godly man wasn’t living in sin or rebellion; he was one of God’s most faithful servants. And yet, virtually overnight, Hezekiah found himself in an impossible situation. And the Lord did not explain why this terrible siege had befallen him.

In Hezekiah, we see a clear illustration of the devil’s plan against every devoted servant of God. In our own times of trial and temptation, Satan comes to us bringing lies: “You’re a failure, otherwise you wouldn’t be going through this. There’s something wrong with you and God is displeased.” The Bible tells us that God supernaturally delivered Hezekiah (see 2 Kings 19:35). And ever since the cross of Christ, God’s people have had even better promises than Hezekiah had.

Remember, pray, even in silence, and refuse to fear Satan’s attacks. God himself will deal with your enemy, and he will work his plan to deliver you!

The healings Christ performed were instantaneous, visible to those who were present. “He said to the paralytic, ‘Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.’ And he arose and departed to his house” (Matthew 9:6-7). The crippled man with the gnarled body lying by the pool of Bethesda suddenly had an outward, physical change so that he could run and leap (see John 5:5-8). This was a miracle that had to astonish and move all who saw it. Another instantaneous miracle!

The feedings that Christ did were progressive. He offered up a simple prayer of blessing, then broke the bread and the dried fish, never giving a sign or a sound that a miracle was taking place. Yet, to feed that many people, there had to be thousands of breakings of that bread and those fish, all throughout the day. And every single piece of bread and fish was a part of the miracle.

This is just how Jesus performs many of his miracles in people’s lives today. We pray for instantaneous, visible wonders, but often our Lord is quietly at work, performing a miracle piece by piece, bit by bit. We may not be able to hear it or touch it, but he is at work, shaping our deliverance beyond what we can see.

You may be in the middle of a miracle right now and simply not be seeing it. You’re discouraged because you don’t see any evidence of God’s supernatural work on your behalf. David said, “In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry came before Him, even to His ears” (Psalm 18:6).

Think of one difficulty you are facing right now, your greatest need, your most troubling problem. You’ve prayed about it for so long. Do you really believe the Lord can and will work it out in ways you can’t conceive? That kind of faith commands the heart to quit fretting or asking questions. It tells you to rest in the Father’s care, trusting him to do it all in his way and time.

Have you ever been so overwhelmed by circumstances that you cried out to God, “Lord, help me! I don’t know how to pray just now, so hear the cry of my heart. Deliver me from this situation!”

At times we can only stand still and know that the Lord is our Deliverer. I believe this is exactly what David went through when he was captured by the Philistines. The psalmist wrote: “My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear of it and be glad” (Psalm 34:2).

David is saying here, in essence, “I have something to tell all of God’s humble people on earth, now and in ages to come. As long as this world exists, the Lord will deliver everyone who calls out to him and trusts him. In his incredible mercy and love, he delivered me, even though I made a very foolish move.”

God will send an angel, if he chooses, or even a host of them, to surround you and keep you from danger. Even if you acted foolishly or had a terrible failure of faith, you only need to get back to calling on your Deliverer. He is faithful to hear your cry and to act.

We see many accounts of miracle throughout the Bible. God miraculously delivered Noah, Lot, David, Hezekiah, Daniel, the three Hebrew children, Moses, Joshua, Israel, Joseph and multitudes more. As for God’s people today, Christ’s blood has delivered us from sin, destruction and much more: “[He] gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father” (Galatians 1:4). 

Ever since the cross, God’s people have had even better promises than any of those listed above. Believers today stand not just on a promise but also on the shed blood of Jesus Christ. And in that blood we have victory over every sin, temptation and battle we will ever face.

Do you believe God has the foreknowledge to anticipate your every trial? Your every foolish move? Your every doubt and fear? If so, you have the example of David before you, who prayed, “This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him” (Psalm 34:6).

Don’t hesitate to cry out to your loving heavenly Father at any time. He longs to hear from you and meet your need.

Imagine that you have witnessed healing after healing, miracle after miracle, one incredible wonder after another. You would be on your knees praising God, wouldn’t you? You would probably say to yourself, “I’ll never again doubt the healing and miracle-working power of Christ. From now on, I’m going to practice unwavering faith in my life, no matter what comes.”

The disciples had witnessed Jesus feed five thousand men, plus women and children, by multiplying five loaves and two fish. As they participated in the distribution of the food and witnessed the supply continuing to increase, one would think their faith would increase, as well. But in truth, Jesus had been reading their thoughts and he knew they were not understanding what was happening. The message of the miracles had not yet registered in their hearts and minds, and doubts still plagued them.

Later, after the day’s remarkable event, we see Jesus “constraining” his disciples to quietly get into a boat. “And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away” (Matthew 14:22, KJV).

The Greek word for “constrained” here means “to compel by entreaty, force or persuasion.” Jesus was urging his disciples in the strongest terms, “Brethren, just get in the boat. Go now.” Jesus was going to stay to dismiss the multitudes and meet the disciples later.

As they pushed off from shore, I wonder if Jesus shook his head in amazement, wounded by their wavering faith after all they had seen. At that moment, Jesus must have considered what he would have to do to bring his disciples into unshakable faith. What he did was dramatic. He walked on the sea toward them in the middle of a storm. When they saw him, “they were troubled, saying, ‘It is a ghost.’ And they cried out for fear” (Matthew 14:26). But Jesus said, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid” (14:27).

The disciples didn’t doubt that Jesus could heal multitudes with a touch or a word. But when they got away from the crowds, they grew worried about their own needs and those of their families. But when Jesus stepped into the boat, a semblance of faith began to rise up in their hearts. “They … worshiped Him, saying, ‘Truly You are the Son of God’” (14:33). Finally, they were beginning to get it, and a foundation of faith was being built in them.

Everyone wants to feel special. The world knows this, and businesses capitalize on it. They offer us different levels of “specialness” for doing business with them. Hotels, airlines and other services tout gold, silver and bronze levels for its participating members. The more you patronize their service, the higher level you achieve in their membership, with all sorts of discounts and rewards. They make you feel special for choosing their business.

Paul introduced the Philippians to a type of favor that God offers his people: “I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart” (Philippians 1:6-7, NLT).

You might say, “Sign me up! I want the best of everything God has for me.” Yet the Lord’s favor is a lot different from the world’s, as Paul points out: “You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News” (1:7).

Paul was sent to jail — shackled and silenced. How does that make sense? He had preached to thousands and seen crowds fall to their knees crying out for salvation. He had appeared before kings and judges and received a personal revelation of Jesus. That’s what favor sounds like. So how does descending from all that to a prison cell become special favor?

Well, what Paul describes here has to be translated through a spiritual heart. He is showing us that God is likely to bring us into unlikely places when he wants to accomplish a special kingdom work in our lives.

People’s hurts are real and when their trials get worse instead of better, it can be very confusing. But God is always with his children, walking beside each one. He doesn’t look to take things away from us; he looks for ways to bless us. He is out for our good, even to restore what’s been taken away.