DEVOTIONAL
For such a time as this, my brothers and sisters in Christ, we have been called to be the Lord’s witnesses in a day of sheer darkness. We are to be a lighthouse in a violent storm of moral decay holding fast to the word of truth for all the world to see. Yes, it is a time of madness; A time when evil is called good and good is called evil. It is a time when God’s fundamental truths have been tossed to the wind, conscience has been raped of its God given conviction, and has been replaced with the world’s standards. During these days it seems as if the dominant thread that is woven in the fabric of culture has become predominantly evil. Men and women alike have become lovers of self, lovers of money, unholy, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, becoming wise in their own estimations while denying the very truth that is written upon their own hearts. Saints of God, though our culture grows closer to adopting all of the sexual deviations that ancient Rome adopted before its fall, we must first repent of our own sins and come before the Lord in holy prayer. This must be an inward movement of the heart, driven by the deepest affections of our soul.
Hezekiah, the king of Judah, found himself in a position of great need. He was a king who sought to honor God by removing all of the objects of idolatrous worship. But the testing of Hezekiah’s faith would soon come. Assyria rose to great power and invaded Judah. The chief officer of Assyria cried aloud, “Beware lest Hezekiah mislead you by saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?”
After Hezekiah received a letter from the officer of Assyria, he read it and he went up to the house of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. Then He prayed: “O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste to all the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire. For they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. So now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.” The Lord heard His prayer and delivered the Nation.
O Lord, may we be awakened to the grim reality of the evil things which have been tolerated over the past years, that have now become the horror that we are about to face. Your church is under attack, Your word is no longer deemed inerrant, and You are placed side by side with other gods as if You are just common. Our hearts have become so hardened that we do not blush at the darkness that comes into our very homes through entertainment. Alcohol, murder, rape, filthy language and sexual perversions flood through the minds of our youth daily. Violence, suicide, depression, human trafficking, and drug addiction are higher than ever before. Lord, will our cheeks ever be stained with tears for what our eyes are seeing? Will the hearts of your people ever be brought to a place of true mourning? God please help us, may our hearts become restless until we see Your hand move upon our country!
Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD.
Isaiah 37:14 NASBS