Letting God Read Your Letters

TO READ: 2 Kings 19:1-19

After Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to the LORD’s Temple and spread it out before the LORD.

2 Kings 19:14

Threatening letters can frighten us out of our minds. What do we do with such a letter? King Hezekiah took a frightening letter to the highest power of all —the King of kings. He took his fear to his Lord.

Sennacherib, king of Assyria, had arrived at the gates of Jerusalem. He threatened to put the city under siege and starve all the people to death. In a letter to Hezekiah, Sennacherib tried to scare all the people of the city into turning against Hezekiah and against the Lord (2 Kings 18:27-30).

Hezekiah took the frightening letter to the temple. In a quiet time with the Lord, Hezekiah prayed. He reminded himself of the power and majesty of God. He asked God to listen and look. Hezekiah knew God and God’s power, so Hezekiah petitioned God to show the world his power over the gods of the Assyrians. The Lord heard and answered Hezekiah’s prayer (2 Kings 19:20, 35-36).

When you’re frightened, your quiet time is an excellent place to begin to deal with whatever is troubling you. Start by reminding yourself that God rules over all the kingdoms of the earth. Then take the news to your upper room of prayer and spread it out before God. Face the facts with him, then call on him to defend his name. Let God take care of your fears. Listen for his answer. Ask him to show you what action you should take. Time alone with the Lord will give you peace of mind as nothing else can.