July 20th, 20

JULY 20,  Why Should You Be Any Different?

II Kings 18-19, II Chronicles 3, and James 5

 King Sennacherib was at his door, the wolf, as it were, ready to blow that house down.  The ominous question Hezekiah hears is “why should you be any different?”  In other words, why should you expect any other outcome than the one everyone else gets?  This king had a track record.  

If you’re looking for a track record to prove your own impending doom, you’ll have no trouble finding it.  You’ll have your own evil King Sennacherib there to tell you that you’re no different.  But King Sennacherib had a problem.  King Hezekiah was different.  In II Kings 18: 5 we see that 

Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after his time.

Hezekiah was different.  The difference was that God had anointed him  We will all be faced with threats, fears, and terrors in this life.  We’re all faced with our own King Sennacherib.  We all have to face those damning words: “Why are you any different”? 

Instead of rolling over in defeat, as some might, Hezekiah rolled into the presence of the Lord.  II Kings 19:14 says that

After Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to the Lord’s Temple and spread it out before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed...

He asked his God - the only God - the God of Israel - to bring deliverance, to listen, to bend down. He asked God to show Sennacherib and God’s people, that God’s people are not like everyone else and that He is a God like no other.  In vs 19 

Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, O Lord, are God.” (II Kings 19:19 NLT)

God did that very thing.  He proved to Hezekiah and King Sennacherib, and to all the kings of the earth, that he alone is God.. He answered the question that was crashing in on Hezekiah’s heart.  The question was, “What makes you think you are any different?”.   The difference was God.

Our God is the difference-maker and he has come to make a difference.  He has come to live and abide in us.  As we live in him, it makes all the difference in the world.  We are able to face those accusations of Sennacherib and all those that come to terrify us.  We are able to draw close to the One who has made all the difference, and in Him we find victory.

Draw near to the one who has made the difference.  Find your strength in him.  When you hear the words, What make you any different? respond like Hezekiah.  Roll into the presence of the Lord. Place those accusation at his feet. Ask him to show to you what that difference is, once again, so that you might stand up, stand strong, and see the Victory that he alone can bring.  

You are loved!