King Hezekiah's Letter

One of my favorite characters in the Old Testament is King Hezekiah of Judah. He always interested me, but his story really came to life after reading Lynn Austin's "Chronicles of the Kings" book series. He is one of those characters that did his best to live the right way his whole life. The Bible shares with us his mistakes and his victories and paints the picture of a good, down-to-earth type man who was just trying to do the right thing. He struggled with his pride, but then, doesn't everyone?

My favorite part of his story is found in 2 Kings 18 and 19. In this passage, we see the king of Assyria come up and take over Judah's sister country, Israel. Feeling heady after his victory, the king of Assyria sends a man named Rabshekah to Judah's capital, Jerusalem, with a message for the country. He said, "Pay tribute or be destroyed." Unfortunately for him, though, he decided that just attacking the King of Judah with his words wasn't enough. He took it a step further and said, "Your God told me to come destroy you. Don't count on Him to save you from me. None of the other gods have been able to stop us from destroying their countries. Even the Israelites' gods didn't give them the victory. Who does your God think He is to be able to do what no other gods have done?"

When the Assyrian message reached King Hezekiah, he did what any normal tiny country being bullied by a larger country would do. He became afraid. He rent his clothes, covered himself with burlap and went to the House of the Lord. He sent his messengers to give the news to Prophet Isaiah and ask him to seek the counsel of God. God answered Hezekiah.

"Do not be afraid of the words the King of Assyria spoke. I'm going to send a rumor that will send him and his army away from you. When he goes, he's going to be killed and never bother you again."

Sure enough, it happened just as the Lord said. Rabshekah heard that his king was battling against the Egyptians and took his army over to help. Before he left, though, he wrote a letter to King Hezekiah. He reiterated his former threats and challenges against God. He knew enough to know that King Hezekiah's God was invisible, so he battle Hezekiah's faith in the invisible with a visible reminder of a problem. He hoped to shake Hezekiah's faith so bad that he would break down and deny the power of God.

His plan, however, backfired badly. 

King Hezekiah's reaction was far from pulling his hair out, having a nervous breakdown, and quitting. Instead, he did something that will always fascinate me. He took the visible reminder, the letter, and took it to the altar of his invisible God. He laid it out on that altar and started praying.

"God, you made all the kingdoms of eath. You made Heaven and earth. Listen to my prayer with your ears. See the problem with your eyes. This man hasn't attacked me; he has attacked you. The Assyrians have destroyed many people and nations. They have cast many gods into the fire, but you and I both know that those were not real gods. They were no-gods, just works of stone and wood and of no consequence. That's how they could destroy them so easily. But I know my God. My God created the materials of which those no-gods were made. My God has the power to save us from the Assyrians. So, show up! Save us and show them and every other country that YOU are the only true God!"

In essence, he laid that letter before God and said, "What are you going to do about this?"

The Bible doesn't tell us how long he waited for God to answer, but something tells me that it wasn't very long. Isaiah sent a message to Hezekiah that said, "God has heard your prayers. He says, 'I am going to absolutely decimate the king of Assyria. It will be so bad that the young girls of Jerusalem are going to joke and laugh at him. Who do you think you are, human king, to reproach and blaspheme ME? I am bringing a multitude of my chariots against you. I know where you live. I know when you wake up in the morning and when you go to bed at night, and I can see everything you do in between. I hear your voice raging at me and challenging me, and no, I'm not just going to let that go. I'm going to put my hook in your nose and my bridle in your lips. I'm going to remind you that I am the Creator, and you are just the created. Your pride fills my nostrils with a stomach-turning stench, and I'm going to make sure the whole earth knows how I feel about what you have done.

"I'm not going to let a single Assyrian arrow strike Jerusalem. He's not going to penetrate the wall or make it close enough to need a shield for your arrows. He's going to leave the way that he came."

2 Kings 19:35: "And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses."

1 angel of God. 185,000 dead Assyrians. 

And in the next two verses, the King of Assyria is killed by his own sons. God answered...suddenly.

Now, put a pin in that story and walk with me for a moment.

When we are baptized, we put on Jesus Christ. When we are filled with the Holy Ghost, we have Jesus living inside of us. This means that your life becomes Jesus' life. He lives inside of you. This is why Christians say they are the "Hands and Feet" of Jesus. He is alive inside of me, therefore, my life is not my own. It is His.

If this is His life, not mine, then these are His problems, not mine. They are not my problems because it is not my life.

Now that we understand that, let's go back to the story of King Hezekiah. Because these are His probelms, I can, like King Hezekiah, turn to God and boldy ask, "What are you going to do about this?"

"For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me. But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us. In God, we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever." (Psalm 44:6-8)

In prayer, I lay that letter out on the altar. I say, "Lord, this is what I am facing. I am living for you and serving you. I know that you are living inside of me and that makes these problems Your problems. I am leaving these in your presence. I am not taking them with me. I am not carrying them on my shoulders anymore. What are you going to do about this?"

Jesus told us to do this when He said, "Cast your burdens on me, for I care for you." (1 Peter 5:7, Psalm 55:22) He allows us to do this for many reasons, but these are the 4 that He impressed upon me while I was praying today:

Reason 1: It shows surrender. It reminds you that you are not in control, but He is. It takes away the pressure of trying to be in control. It shows your faith in Him.

Reason 2: It frees you to worship and it battles depression.

"Why art though cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." 

When you cast those cares upon Him and leave that letter on the altar, you free yourself to lift your hands and worship. You cannot be consumed by a problem that you have given to someone else. Your faith battles the depression and you are freed.

Reason 3: It frees you from fear. Along with the depression, fear is removed. You are no longer bound to fear. You are not going to make rash decisions based on your fear because it is no longer your decision to make.

Reason 4: It frees God to work in His way and His timing. God will not share authority, and when you constantly hold onto control of your problem or situation, you push God out. Open your hand and THROW (cast) it to Jesus. Allow Him to have the complete authority and answer the way that He wants to. Hezekiah may have been expecting God to say, "Go out and fight. I will give you the victory." But instead, God answered in an even greater way. His 1 angel was all it took to bring a mighty victory because Hezekiah allowed God to work in His way!

Finally, it may not be "That night" like it was for Hezekiah. While we are waiting for God to SUDDENLY answer, we must keep our faith. We must not let ourselves take control of those problems again. We must leave them in His hands and remember who He is.

"For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know WHOM I have believed, and am persuaded that HE is able to keep that which I have committed unto HIM against that day."

If you have committed something to Him, He will not fail you. He cares for you!

Over My Head

If you have ever been in water with young children, you are probably familiar with the incredible terror that they experience when the water approaches their head. I will never forget teaching my siblings how to swim. My baby brother would get in the water by himself with his floaties, but if I took them off of him, he would only cling to me in the water. He had to learn to trust that he was going to be fine, even if the water went over his head.

One of the most terrifying experiences of my life was the time my baby sister jumped into the water, forgetting she had just taken her float vest off. I will never forget the desperation and fear in her eyes as she silently pleaded with me to save her. I have never jumped in after someone so fast. She was shaking with fear when I pulled her out of the water, and the tears were sudden.

I have always been comfortable in water, but I still don't like to be in over my head very often. I like to be able to swim beneath the surface if I want to, but then be able to put my feet on the ground and know that I can still stand in the water. I like to feel safe.

Sometimes, if we aren't careful, we are that way with God. The prophet Ezekiel talked about the river that flowed out of the House of God. He described the progression of the depth of the water. It advanced from his ankles to his knees, to his waist, and finally, so deep that he could not pass over: waters to swim in. (Ez. 47:1-5) When God begins a work in your life, He starts at the ankle level. For someone who has never even been in water, getting in to the ankle-depth takes great faith. It takes trusting in God.

When we master that level, God calls us deeper. We walk in to where the water crests our knees, then our waist, then our shoulders, and finally we stand right on the edge of the scariest part of all: Waters over our head.

There is no control anymore. You've lost the ground beneath your feet. You have to trust that He has His hand beneath you, even though you can't feel it. The waters slip over your head, and its overwhelming. You have to make yourself breathe because you are too strained to do it naturally.

In other words: Your hours get cut at work and you stay faithful in your giving. The water slips over your head. You face depression in faith and determine not to let it beat you this time. The water slips over your head. You take a step of faith and go talk to your pastor about the addiction you are fighting. The water slips over your head. You reach a place in prayer where you no longer care about your needs; you are too filled with a desire to see God save the city that you are called to. The water slips over your head. You stop fighting the calling that God has placed on your life and begin to pursue the ministry God has for you. The water slips over your head.

I have learned in the last few years of serving God that I hardly ever feel in control. In fact, if I am seeking to feel in control, I am probably not seeking the will of God. God's will is for me to serve Him, no matter what I face.

"Whether I sink, whether I swim, it makes no difference when I am beautifully in over my head."

That terror that children face is something I have been feeling myself lately. I've been turning desperate, silent eyes to God, pleading with Him to help me. I know He stands with me, though, because every once in a while there will be a gentle lift. When I think I can't take another day, His hand comes beneath my feet for a moment, and I can breathe again. My trust in Him grows day by day. Just as my baby brother had to learn to trust himself, I have to learn to trust in my Maker and the Holder of my every moment.

"Would you come and tear down the boxes that I have tried to put you in? Let love come teach me who you are again?"

Sometimes I have to just tell myself, "You trust Him, Ariqua. You are in His hands." I know that even when I have lost control, I am free. Even when the water goes over my head, I am right where He wants me to be.

My story

There is an awesome song out there by Big Daddy Weave called "My Story." Every time I hear it, I have to pause and think for a few minutes about just how awesome my God is.

I've shared on this blog before of my fascination with people's stories. I love it when people take time out to tell me their past and what they have been through. When I worked my previous customer service job, many customers stopped in and would begin to talk to me. Before long, they were telling me their story. Sometimes it left me in amazement. Sometimes it broke my heart. Sometimes I walked around the counter and gave them a big hug when they finished and invited them to my church. I shared my own story once or twice with the people who asked. I hope mine sounded different to them.

The lyrics of that song walk you through my life, and, I think, every true believer's life. To tell you anything about myself goes back to Jesus Christ.

"If I told you my story, you would hear Hope that wouldn't let go. If I told you my story, you would hear Love that never gave up. If I told you my story, you would hear Life, but it wasn't mine."

I wish I could take all of you back to the place where I first experienced the pure love of Jesus. Even though I was just a toddler, I remember the moments very clearly. I was at a school chapel service, and our school principal had just finished speaking about how God loves us, no matter what we have done. She led us all in a prayer of repentance, and within seconds, I was speaking in tongues.

I remember curling into my Kindergarten teacher and just crying and speaking in tongues. They had to carry me back to class after chapel service ended and I spoke in tongues until I fell asleep for nap time. I remember the other kids staring at me, and I remember not even being able to care what they were thinking. I was 4, and the emotion of that moment was so real to me.

That experience was amazing, but it was bought for me on a cross thousands of years before. 

"If I should speak, then let it be of the grace that is greater than all my sin, of when justice was served and when mercy wins, of the kindness of Jesus that draws me in. Oh to tell you my story, is to tell of Him!"

You may say, "But how much grace did four-year-old Ariqua need?" But I did. I was born in sin and shapen in iniquity. I was old enough even then to know that I had done things that weren't good. I knew I disobeyed my parents sometimes. I definitely had lied a few times. I needed forgiveness for that. However, before all of that, I was born a sinner, as is each human who enters this world. Everyone that is, except Jesus Christ. He gave his perfect, sinless life as a ransom so that you and I could claim His cleanliness as our own. My story is nothing without His sacrifice and the gift of salvation!

"If I told you my story, you would hear victory over the enemy. If I told you my story, you would hear freedom that was won for me. If I told you my story, you would hear Life that overcame the grave!"

I grew beyond four-years-old and faced many things growing up. Through it all, I remained in awe of the presence of God. I know Jesus was keeping me close to His heart. I did almost nothing to deserve His love. I only read my Bible sparingly. I hardly ever took time to commit to a daily prayer life. I sought him weekly in an altar and sang songs of praise to Him whenever I could. I know that young children depend almost solely on their parent's relationship with God. I was blessed that mine upheld the full doctrine in our home while I was growing up.

However, the day came when it was up to me. That came during my 18th year. All of a sudden, there wasn't pressure from my parents to go to church, and I had a decision to make. I decided to follow hard after God. I have asked myself many times why, and I think it is best explained with this line from that song, "If I told you my story, you would hear Love that never gave up."

Jesus knew what I was going to face at 18, and He allowed His sweet love to remain constant in my life during all of those years leading up to my decision. He loved me loudly throughout those years to make sure I knew who He was and what He would offer me when the time came to decide.

I went to church for weeks on end without my family. If the doors were open, I was there, even if I sat on the "family pew" alone. I went to Texas Bible College because I knew there was a call on my life and that I wanted to be a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I wanted to be effective in helping the church, and I wanted to be effective in reaching the lost. I married my husband and for the first time in my life I experienced full time ministry.

My story is still being written, and there is much that God will still do with my life, but I said all that to say this: 

You don't have to backslide to have a story.

When you live for Jesus, your story isn't really about you anyway. Your story is about Him. However He chooses to write your story, you need to let Him. Don't take the pen out of His hand.

I never imagined that I would be where I am today. If you had told me when I received the Holy Ghost that I would be doing all of these things, you would have overwhelmed my little mind. That's not how God works (which is sometimes frustrating). He develops your life like a story. If yours doesn't look that great, you have taken the pen out of His hand too soon.

If you look at your story and can't find anything in it that you know was God's doing, you haven't let Him write your story. God doesn't share glory with anyone, and most of the time, He writes stories that are only possible with Him.

That song ends with a throwback to one of my favorite hymns, "Blessed Assurance." The words simply say, "This is my story: Praising my Savior all the day long."

God deserves our praise and adoration, and He created us all the way back in the beginning to praise Him. You were made to worship Him. As you go through your life and he writes your story, there will be days when you face something bigger than you and you get overwhelmed. I speak from experience when I say that if you will leave the pen in God's hands, you will call that the best part of your story in a few years time.

When I moved to New Jersey from Louisiana, it was the hardest decision I had faced in my 19 years of living. I left behind my family and everything I had known up to that point. I dumpster dived for boxes to pack my things in, packed them up, and with the help of 2 friends loaded them and shipped them to my boyfriend's house. I packed anything breakable and enough clothes to get me through until the boxes arrived into my 2-seater MR2 spyder. I kissed my big sister and my niece goodbye and drove, by myself the 26 hours to the east coast.

I'll be honest. I was scared out of my mind.

"God, I know this is you and not me, but what are you doing?"

I'll never forget stopping to get my oil changed 30 minutes from my house. The mechanic asked me where I was going, and when I told him, he shook his head. "Not on those tires, you aren't. You'll be lucky to make it a few hundred miles."

I got in my car and started driving and praying. Rick started calling all the tire shops along I-20 that he could. He found out pretty quickly that my tires were a unique size and not many places stocked them. Finally, he found me a place to stop an hour or so away. I stopped and pulled in to a very sketchy looking mechanic shop. It may have been fine, but to this young girl traveling alone, something didn't feel right. I drove two blocks down the street and saw a much cleaner looking shop. I pulled in and told the lady at the desk what I needed. She looked them up on her computer and said in surprise, "Actually, we have those! 2 of them in stock, and they are $75 apiece."

The man who put them on was a Christian and said he would be praying for me as I traveled. I look back on that whole experience and I don't even really remember how stressed I was. I remember the feeling of peace that washed over me as I realized that God had me right in the center of His palm. I knew right then that all was well and that He would take care of me.

"This is my story..."

Let Him write your story however He chooses to. Don't take the pen out of His hand, and remember that your praise is part of your story.