Isaiah 38:1-8

In those days Hezekiah bacame ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, "This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover."

Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, "Remember, O Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and whith wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes." And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: "Go and tell Hezekiah, 'This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.

"'This is the Lord's sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.' " So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down.

Why did God send word through Isaiah to Hezekiah saying, "You are going to die, you will not recover?" If God knows all - past, present, future - then He would have known that this truly was not going to happen.

Hezekiah, upon hearing of his imminent death (from God himself, not just a doctor with a Ph.D), humbled himself and cried out to God - weeping bitterly. God heard his weeping and and prayers and gave him 15 added years of life. That's a great story of healing. I hope that all of us can experience such a powerful sign of healing; but I find it interesting and I have a question:

Was it because of Hezekiah's response that he was healed?

If we answer 'yes' to that question, we must ask ourselves, "What do I need to do in order that God might save me from this?" Or we have the mindset that if I respond in humility and faith, God will show grace to me. But soon we will begin to see that this isn't a simple math equation (more faith + more humility = more blessing) because there are sometimes when healing just doesn't come. And we begin to ask more questions, "Why do some people die even when they respond to illness in humility and faith? Why is God not fair - I thought He loved all of us equally?" If we hold this belief we will start to say that God is not good and loving.

Was it because of Hezekiah's response that he was healed?

No.

I submit to you that God took Hezekiah through this trial for the sake of correcting a view that he held. We have established that Hezekiah rightly went before God and cried out to him in submission, but what specifically did he say? Verse 3, " ' Remember, O Lord, how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in Your eyes.' " (emphasis mine) Did it take God by suprise that Hezekiah was a faithful servant of His? Had he forgotten what Hezekiah had done for Him? No.

In 2nd Kings 18:5 -7a we read, "Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow Him; he kept the commands the Lord had given to Moses. And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook."

Hezekiah was a good guy. God knew this. He didn't need Hezekiah to remind him of what a good follower he was. Rather than show me that all I need to do is remind God of all the good that I've done for Him to remember to bless me, Hezekiah's prayer shows me the beginnings of something in Hezekiah's heart: pride and self-righteousness. He was beginning to think that God was on his side no matter what; that because he was such a faithful dude, God would bless everything he did. This wasn't right and it was time for some humility in Hezekiah's life.

God humbled Hezekiah. He showed Hezekiah that Hezekiah wasn't in charge. Hezekiah wasn't in a position of leadership. Hezekiah wasn't in control of the outcome - God was. God is in charge. God is in the position of leadership. God is in control of the outcome, and He doesn't need any of us. Hezekiah was not an indispensable asset to God's team. So what did God do?

God let suffering come to Hezekiah.

Now, it was never in God's head that He might actually have to let Hezekiah die. God knew Hezekiah - He knew how he would respond. Hezekiah's healing was not based on his response to suffering but on the fact that God was teaching him humility. Sometimes God will take us through seasons of life that are meant for instruction and correction, and sometimes it won't be a season at all and death will take us from this world. Either way, God will get the glory - not me.

The answer to suffering is not always, and hardly ever (unless the reasons are obvious and self-inflicted) to do something. Yes, if I am now lonely because I burned all my bridges by talking about people behind their backs, I need to go to them and ask for forgiveness. Yes, if I am suffering from an STD there is an obviouse action step: stop having sex outside of marriage! But if I suddenly found out that my husband is cheating on me and wants a divorce - that is not my fault and it is in God's hands, not mine. If I just got back the test results for skin cancer that are positive, there is nothing I need to do to remind God He shouldn't have let this happen to me or to somehow prove my merit to God! If you lose your job while being an honest and hard working employee, recognize that it is God who gave you the job in the first place, and apart from His unconditional blessing there is nothing you can do to earn it back.

This passage is not a reason to remind God of all the good that we do, so that He might remember to not bring suffering to us. The point is to remember who God is, and who we are not. This is the good news of the Gospel: In that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. In that while we are all ill-deserving of God's glory, He chooses to use us in this life for His glory, while others are taken to God's glory a little sooner. Either way, it is a blessing. God is good. And whether or not I live a life of health and wealth or I live a life of pain and suffering, He has counted my name in the everlasting kingdom of God.