Surrounded on Every Side

Good morning.  I hope you had a great weekend.

2 Chronicles 32:1, 9-15 (NASB)
1 After these acts of faithfulness Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and besieged the fortified cities, and thought to break into them for himself.


9 After this Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem while he was besieging Lachish with all his forces with him, against Hezekiah king of Judah and against all Judah who were at Jerusalem, saying, 10 "Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria, 'On what are you trusting that you are remaining in Jerusalem under siege ? 11 'Is not Hezekiah misleading you to give yourselves over to die by hunger and by thirst, saying, "The LORD our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria "? 12 'Has not the same Hezekiah taken away His high places and His altars, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, "You shall worship before one altar, and on it you shall burn incense "? 13 'Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands ? Were the gods of the nations of the lands able at all to deliver their land from my hand ? 14 'Who was there among all the gods of those nations which my fathers utterly destroyed who could deliver his people out of my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you from my hand ? 15 'Now therefore, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like this, and do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you from my hand ?'"

There are times in our lives when we seem to to be surrounded on all side by an enemy that is dead set on our destruction.  This enemy takes on many different forms including:  Financial distress, sickness and interpersonal conflict to name a few.  As these things press in on us they seem to taunt our faith, calling us to doubt and fear.  This was the tactic used by Sennacherib as he and his army pressed in upon King Hezekiah and the people of Judah.  

When we are confronted with these types of challenges, we have two choices.  We can either give in to our fear or we can press hard into the Lord.  In the case of King Hezekiah, he chose the latter and in doing so he witnessed the power of God working on His behalf.

2 Chronicles 32:20-22 (NASB)
20 But King Hezekiah and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed about this and cried out to heaven. 21 And the LORD sent an angel who destroyed every mighty warrior, commander and officer in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned in shame to his own land. And when he had entered the temple of his god, some of his own children killed him there with the sword. 22 So the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria and from the hand of all others, and guided them on every side.

Today you may find yourself up against a challenge that seems insurmountable.   Choose to lean upon the Lord and not give fear foothold in your life.   Let God demonstrate His power in your circumstances for all to see.

Until next Monday, may God's richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl