2 Kings 18:13-19:37, Acts 26:1-17, Psalms 149:1-9, Proverbs 18:8
What God said to me – Have you ever had the wind knocked out of you? One moment everything is fine and out of the blue you take a blow and suddenly can’t breathe. It is frightening and hard to think straight. Sometimes life seems like that – everything seems to be going well and out of the blue you take a hit – you lose your job – you get a bad medical report – you have an accident – a loved one dies. How do you react? Look at Hezekiah, King of Judah. Jerusalem was surrounded by the Assyrian army. They were savage and cruel, and they had already taken the Northern Kingdom of Israel into captivity. Their king sent a message to Hezekiah proclaiming their coming destruction and how they had destroyed every other nation and their gods and how Hezekiah’s God would not save them either. Hezekiah took the enemy’s letter and brought it into My house and laid it out before Me and prayed. I answered his prayer through My prophet, Isaiah, and one of the things I told him was that this was not a surprise to Me – I planned it long ago. Remember that no matter what you are facing and how blindsided you are by it, “I AM” not taken by surprise. I planned it from long ago and “I AM” at work in it and through it. Like Hezekiah, come lay it out before Me and pray – then trust My plan.