Lay It Down

I've been there - a place where there's no way out.  When there is nothing I can do to even try to fix it.

A total dead end.

This is when the only way out is up.

King Hezekiah knew all about this place thousands of years ago when a huge Assyrian army came to Jerusalem and camped right outside the city walls.  The Assyrian King told Hezekiah that the LORD had told him to destroy Jerusalem.

God told him to do that?  What?

King Hezekiah was wise enough to recognize a big lie when he heard it so he went to the prophet Isaiah to get the truth.  The Lord told Isaiah that King Hezekiah should not be disturbed by what the Assyrians were saying -  God was going to move against them himself.

Next, the Assyrians send a letter warning King Hezekiah that he should not be deceived by God's promises to protect him.  (There were serious mind games going on here.)  The Assyrians had been completely destroying everyone in their path and that's what the Assyrian king was planning to do to Jerusalem.

King Hezekiah knew that was exactly what the Assyrians had been doing - destroying everyone and everything and no one had been able stop them.

So Hezekiah took the Assyrian's letter to the temple and spread it out before the Lord.  He laid out his concerns to God and asked him to rescue them so that all the nations of the world would know that he was God. I visualize Hezekiah on his knees spreading out this scroll full of scary and deadly threats.  Then he lays himself down on the floor in front of the scroll as he asks God to save his people.

How interesting - he doesn't summon the commander of his army.  He doesn't consult with anyone.  He and his people are facing annihilation and he prostrates himself before God.

I've been there several times in my life - when there is no way out but up.   Faced with massive issues that were extremely beyond my control, I have laid it all out before God and asked him to take care of it.  I didn't know how he would do it and I told him I didn't care what he did - I was just placing it all in his hands and trusting in his promise that he is working all things out for my good.

I'll never forget the times I have laid facedown on the floor, asking God to move, begging for an answer, telling him I wanted his will to be done in my life.  One time I had to make a significant decision TODAY so I asked God to give me a direction.  As I finished praying and was getting up off the floor, my phone rang and I knew it was God.  Well, it wasn't actually God himself, it was a person that God was using to give me an answer.  At the end of the conversation, the decision I needed to make was very clear.
 
It works for me just like it worked for Hezekiah thousands of years ago.  God heard Hezekiah's prayer and took care of the situation. God always hears my prayers and he answers by orchestrating situations in his way with his power to benefit me.