Isaiah Chapter 38:

Isaiah Chapter 38:

1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.

2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD,

3 And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.

4 Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying,

5 Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.

6 And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city.

Sometimes things can look really bad. Sometimes things can feel really bad too. Heck, sometimes things really ARE bad! I mean when you're strapped with a terminal illness, and the greatest prophet of God on earth comes to let you know that you're definitely going to die, I'd say that's pretty bad. So what do you do when the very worst of circumstances land squarely on top of your head, and you are faced with a devastating impossibility? Well, if you are made of the same fabric that Hezekiah was made of, you turn your face to the wall and you pour out your whole heart and soul to the one who holds the whole world in his hands. If you do, you give yourself the only chance of a good outcome, even as Hezekiah obtained.

God is a very good God, and he can certainly be persuaded by our prayers, our tears, and our faith in his lovingkindness. Hezekiah lived in a time before God's only begotten Son left heaven to suffer death in the stead of every soul on earth. God's love and mercy was known by people of faith for four thousand years before Jesus came to earth, but with the manifested love of God for all men that was shown at Calvary, we are totally without excuse to not trust in the goodness of God toward us. I've always said in my preaching that if you have to look beyond the cross of Christ to find and believe the love of God, you may as well just find something else to do with your life, because you will never find it.

That six hour period that Jesus hung on the old rugged cross was the very nucleus of the history of this world, and the entire heart and soul of God was put on grand display right then and there; like never before, and never afterward. Faith believes that. Intellect scorns it. Nonetheless it is most assuredly so. "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent" (I Cor. 1:18,19). Every problem that has ever been encountered by mankind, or ever will be, was solved during those six grueling hours. Faith believes that, and the knowledge of reality knows it.

So when you are faced with impossible odds, and you are crushed by decimating circumstances, don't look at the situation through intellect, but rather through faith in what God manifested in his Son on that cruel cross. And remember the words of the great apostle Paul in regard to these things: "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" (Rom. 8:31,32) He gave Hezekiah fifteen more years to his life after first giving him a terminal prognosis. And that was BEFORE God "delivered [his Son] up for us all. What do you think he will do for you, based on you trusting in his blessed Son who died for you?