2 Kings 19:14: “And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.”

August 13th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

We love this picture of King Hezekiah going to the temple with child-like confidence and unrolling the threatening letter he had received from Sennacherib the king of Assyria before his heavenly Father. It is exactly what each of us needs to do with every threatening thing that comes into our lives. Sennacherib signed the letter, but it was really from Satan. The people of God had decided to trust God completely, and Satan was attacking that commitment.

While this story is preserving history, it is mainly recorded here to give us spiritual insight into one of the devil’s oldest tricks: trying to make us question whether or not we can fully trust the Lord. That is how Satan tempted Eve in the garden when he said to her, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1, NIV). And that is what Rabshakeh, the Assyrian king’s ambassador, was doing when he taunted King Hezekiah and all the people of Judah, saying, “God told me to come against you to destroy you. He’s not going to get you out of this mess” (2 Kings 18).

When we find ourselves in really deep trouble, we should not be surprised when Satan says the same thing to us: “God is not going to rescue you. Your faith is too weak and you are dead.” And he adds a twist that undermines the very character of God, “God is actually the one behind all your troubles because you are such a poor example of a believer.” That’s exactly what the enemy’s messenger was saying when he said, “God told me to go up against you.”

Satan’s lies to you today are his attack to get you to believe that God has given up on you, and that all your problems are the result of God’s punishment for your past sins. Sound familiar? It does to me. I’ve heard it a thousand times, but it still carries a sting because the fact is I am a poor example of a believer. We all are. So what should we do? The same thing Hezekiah did, remember that Satan is a liar and go back to the source of all help, God Almighty. In times of trouble, we must call on the name of Jesus. He never gives up on us and He will always bring help.

“LORD, save us we pray. You alone have given us life through the blood of Your Son, Jesus Christ.”