Week 27: "Trust Me!"

This week's Bible reading plan is as follows:





*Sunday: 2 Kings 18:13-19:37; Acts 21:1-17; Psalm 149:1-9; Proverbs 18:8

*Monday: 2 Kings 20:1-22:2; Acts 21:18-36; Psalm 150:1-6; Proverbs 18:9-10

*Tuesday: 2 Kings 22:3-23:30; Acts 21:37-22:16; Psalm 1:1-6; Proverbs 18:11-12

*Wednesday: 2 Kings 23:31-25:30; Acts 22:17-23:10; Psalm 2:1-12; Proverbs 18:13

*Thursday: 1 Chronicles 1:1-2:17; Acts 23:11-35; Psalm 3:1-8; Proverbs 18:14-15

*Friday: 1 Chronicles 2:18-4:4; Acts 24:1-27; Psalm 4:1-8; Proverbs 18:16-18

*Saturday: 1 Chronicles 4:5-5:17; Acts 25:1-27; Psalm 5:1-12; Proverbs 18:19

Scripture: 2 Kings 18:32b-35

“Don’t listen to Hezekiah when he tries to mislead you by saying, ‘The Lord will rescue us!’ Have the gods of any other nations ever saved their people from the king of Assyria? What happened to the gods of Hamath and Arpad? And what about the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Did any god rescue Samaria from my power? What god of any nation has ever been able to save its people from my power? So what makes you think that the Lord can rescue Jerusalem from me?”

Observation:

This was a dark day for the inhabitants of Jerusalem and their righteous king, Hezekiah. The Assyrian army, the most powerful force in the world at that time, surrounded the city.

The Assyrians had already destroyed all the surrounding nations. Now the Assyrian king, Sennacherib, had Hezekiah shut up in the royal city of Jerusalem “like a bird in a cage” (these words of Sennacherib are preserved in the ancient Assyrian records, which are housed at the Oriental Institute in Chicago). As the inhabitants of Jerusalem looked over the walls at the vast army that consisted of well over 200,000 soldiers, the situation appeared to be hopeless. But God was on their side…and appearances were therefore deceiving! As the story unfolds, God brought the Assyrian army and its king to naught and Jerusalem was spared destruction. No matter how hopeless things looked, there was cause for hope. God was on their side!

Application:

There are times today when Assyrians surround us. Whenever we are tempted to believe that the problems facing us in the present are greater than the God who said he would never leave us or forsake us, take note of the Assyrians! No matter what challenge or difficulty you are facing right now, rest assured that God will deliver you from it. When we face trials, God wants us to trust him. He wants us to stop trying to live by our own wits and rely on his power to get us through. I can think of three such challenges that I am facing right now, and what God is saying to me in today’s reading is simply this: “Trust me and everything will be okay.”

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I trust you, but I confess there are times when I do not trust you enough! As you were with Hezekiah and his people, I pray that you would be with me in these present circumstances. Please deliver me for Jesus’ sake, and I will forever praise you. Amen!

Have a great week!

Faithfully,

Chuck