Faith not Fantasy

Hezekiah's Prayer | 2 Kings Chapter 19

14 Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God. 17 “It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. 18 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. 19 Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God.”

As I am reading Hezekiah's prayer in this chapter, I can sense God's strong voice teaching me another perspective about faith. There are times (which I am also guilty about), when we exaggeratedly define faith in the situations that we are in. When we make 'faith' an excuse to face the reality of life. But in this chapter, where Hezekiah's rough battle was narrated, we can learn so much about how we can use faith in a realistic view. King Hezekiah reign differently compared to the kings before him. He acknowledged God as God. He always observe and obey God's commands and he never compromised his faith in his leadership. But the time came when the king of Assyria and his messengers threatened him and bragged about their victories against the other kings and kingdoms. They let Hezekiah feel less - in power, capability and influence. That incident leads Hezekiah to turn his heart focus on God through prayer. As he prays, we can see how Hezekiah accepts the reality of negative forces against him as mentioned in verse 17 “It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands.". He did not disregard such facts. In front of God, he utters his wholehearted acceptance of the situation that he was in. But one great lesson that we can learn there is that accepting the fact of what is really going on will take our faith properly activated. Faith is not fantasy. Faith is actually accepting and recognizing the facts about the situation yet focuses on the 'truth' about the power and sovereignty of God. Like what Hezekiah prayed to God on verse 19, "Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God.” More than anything, he still magnify the Kingship of God over the reality of the situation that he was in. That is faith. We can apply it now in our situation regarding the pandemic that we are facing right now. Do not neglect the facts about it. Take action on it. Learn from it. But above all, focus and dwell more on the truth about our God (his power, goodness, and sovereignty), by faith. :)