The Ingredients for a Different Life

And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done.2 Kings 18:3 (New King James Version)

As I read through 2 Kings I am struck by how many kings are described as doing evil in the sight of the Lord. The few times that it states a king doing right in the sight of the Lord always grab my attention. The first six verses of 2 Kings gives an amazing list of what Hezekiah did that was right in God’s eyes. I like to think of it as God’s brag book on His servant. Since it is important enough to make its way into the pages of Scripture it is important enough to gaze upon. Look at what this king did!

He removed the high places, broke down the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherah, broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made (because the people were worshiping it), trusted in the LORD, clung to the LORD, and kept His commandments. The things he broke down and destroyed had to do with the idolatry of the nation of Israel. The breaking down of those things were the results of Hezekiah’s personal walk with the LORD. Though many kings before and after him did just the opposite, Hezekiah broke the generational bents and ruled his life and his kingdom with love, obedience, and dependence on the King of Kings. The result was that God was with him and wherever he went he prospered.

I see a principle here that God has established. My private relationship with God will have an effect on my public relationship with people. As I open His Word and allow it to take hold of me, it has a profound effect on the choices I make, the things I do, the things I say, the way I treat others, and the person I am in my home. As I trust the Lord, cling to Him, and obey Him, He is reshaping and remaking me from the inside out. While I can change outward behavior only God can change my heart. And with that change of heart comes a change of life style.

It is never too late to open God’s Word and say, “Father, speak to me. Show me who You are and what You are like. Make me hungry for You. Make me thirsty for You. Be the One to satisfy me in the deepest parts of my being. Help me to take hold of You with both hands and all of my heart.” The results will astound you as God answers the cries of your heart!

Father, my life changes when it was You I chose to trust, cling to, and obey. Continue to do Your work in me as I sit on the Potter’s wheel. Amen.

The Motions - Matthew West
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaHmiFaX_pk&feature=related

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.