Devotional | day 2
“When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears / and delivers them out of all their troubles. / The LORD is near to the brokenhearted / and saves the crushed in spirit. / Many are the afflictions of the righteous, / but the LORD delivers him out of them all.”
Psalm 34:17-19
For this retreat’s theme, we’re focusing on Psalm 34, which illustrates how we can turn to God in praise for his good works, righteousness, and protection of his people in Christ. For the devotionals, we’re spending a little time looking at other stories in the Bible which reflect the truths described in that psalm.
Today we’re going to read from Isaiah 38. This is one of the historical “interludes” between Isaiah’s long sections of prophecy. The context is close to the end of the kings in Israel and Judah; the kingdoms have split, politics and international relations have gone downhill, and the people of Israel have been carried into captivity by the Assyrians. Around that time, a righteous king of Judah, named Hezekiah, is reigning. Not long after that, Assyria comes to besiege Judah as well, but despite their intimidation tactics they are miraculously driven off by God: an angel destroys part of their army and their king returns to his land and is assassinated.
Read Isaiah 38, and especially note king Hezekiah’s responses to the different situations he’s in. —What deliverance from God! What a reminder of our dependence on God both in large things (like an enemy army attacking our country!) and in small things (like individual sickness). In the account of this story in 2 Kings, it says that Isaiah hadn’t even left the building before God sent him an answer to Hezekiah’s prayer (20:4). What a demonstration of God’s faithfulness to deliver his people! Take a few minutes to reflect and pray about the passage in light of what Psalm 34 says, and answer the following reflection questions.
Reread verses 10-15. In this section of his writing, Hezekiah looks back on his mindset before he received a word from God. Has there been a time in your life when you related to any of that section?
In verse 14, he says, “My eyes are weary with looking upward.” Evidently he had prayed so urgently, and with such dedication, that he was growing tired from the physical position his eyes were in. When you are anxious or distressed, do you turn to God like that?
Reread verses 16-20. See how faithful God is to deliver Hezekiah from his illness! It was not explicitly a judgment from God; whether because of age, physical fatigue, or something else, it’s simply time for Hezekiah to die. Yet, God is merciful and gives him fifteen more years (v. 5). Even if only in small ways, how have you seen God’s faithfulness over this summer?
In verse 17, Hezekiah says, “It was for my welfare that I had great bitterness; but in love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction.” God uses difficult things, and even evil, to bring about good in our lives! (If you want to read more about this, see Genesis 50:20, Hebrews 12, and/or the book of Habakkuk) Think through your summer, or even your whole life--how has God used bad things that happened in the past for good? To bring you to love and trust him more, or to a spiritual maturity you might not have reached otherwise?
In verse 19, he says, “The living, the living, he thanks you, as I do this day; the father makes known to the children your faithfulness.” Think through something you can share with others about God’s faithfulness to you over this summer, and try to tell someone about it before we leave the retreat center.
Finally, spend some time in prayer. Thank God for how he saves us from bad circumstances (like in verse 20); and how he saves us from the penalty of our own sin. Just as God saved Hezekiah from his own sickness leading to death, he saves us from our terminal illness caused by sin. Praise God for his kindness toward us!