“Hezekiah was sick unto death, then turned his face to the wall and said, ‘Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and have done that which is good in thy sight.’”
(Isaiah 38:1-3)
Christ, the Great King and Keeper of His kingdom, cares for His own with perfect wisdom and unfailing love. This is one of the greatest comforts for God’s people in every generation … that He hears the prayers of His children now just as He did in the days of old. His unchangeable nature means His care for His people never shifts, weakens, or fails. His every purpose and decree is aimed at the good of His people and the glory of His name, just as Romans 8:28 affirms: “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Trusting this truth allows us to rest in His providence, abandon self-reliance, and serve Him without fear (Luke 1:74-75).
Hezekiah’s life is the perfect example of how the Lord responds to His faithful servants. Isaiah records that Hezekiah was “sick unto death” and turned his face toward the wall in earnest prayer: “Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and have done that which is good in thy sight.” God heard his plea and not only spared his life from immediate death but extended his days by fifteen years, evidencing the direct, sovereign intervention of the King of kings on behalf of His servant.
Living under the lordship of Christ means living under His constant care and sovereign ordering of all things. In Him, believers have already experienced the greatest deliverance, that of salvation from sin and judgment. Yet He continues to grant daily deliverances, drawing His people to the throne of grace with full and direct access. In trials, temptations, dangers, and fears, Christ is both the ruling King and the interceding Mediator who hears, answers, and sustains.
Every event, great or small, is ordered by His hand for the good of His church and for His glory. He directs the course of history and the personal steps of each believer with the same sovereign precision. Night and day He mediates for His people, communing with the Holy Spirit who dwells in them, guarding them from spiritual harm and delivering them according to His perfect plan. As Paul testified in 2 Timothy 4:18, “And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
For the Christian, this is an empowering reality. The King who reigns over all is the same One who hears every prayer, who knows every need before it is spoken, and who will deliver His own until the day He brings them into His eternal presence.
Contemplations:
- Faith in God alone. I read, Lord, that “we must not pin our faith upon any party; nor order our ways by any man’s way which they have chosen to themselves, though they appear ever so godly. Hezekiah builds on that here… that which all the people of God in common consent in; that is, a sincere walking with God according to His will.”[1] Help me do this too.
- Following God’s ways. Lord, I understand it will not be enough to say at the last day that I held to certain truths by knowledge alone but that I strove to be of the mind of God as revealed in His Word. I must remember, it is my responsibility to be aware not only of the errors of the ungodly (2 Peter 3:17), but also of the godly, that all things may be ordered rightly under King Jesus.
- Model the godliness in others. It is good to model Hezekiah in this passage in Isaiah 38, but not in the next chapter where he is tempted and falls into sin. Rather, I should only seek to model and admire godly people for that which is godly in them. For in this way Christ’s kingdom will continue to be glorified.
- For His glory and my good. The Lord Jesus is a great King who orders His kingdom in a most wonderful and upright manner, knowing that all things that befall me are for my good.
Prayer (Adoration)
O Lord Jesus Christ, my King and my Deliverer, I come before You with gratitude for Your unfailing care and sovereign rule over all things. You are the Great Shepherd of the sheep, who neither slumbers nor sleeps, but guards Your people with a vigilant and unceasing watch. As You delivered Hezekiah in his day of trouble, so I know You will deliver me in every trial that You permit to enter my life.
Lord, I praise You that my life is not subject to the whims of chance or the schemes of men, but is held in Your hand, ordered by Your perfect wisdom. You are the King who sits upon the throne of heaven, ruling with righteousness and truth. Your judgments are just, Your mercy is sure, and Your promises never fail. In You there is no change, no shadow of turning, and no weakness that could hinder the fulfillment of Your will.
I thank You that as one who belongs to You by grace, I have full and free access to Your throne. I need no earthly mediator, for You are my Mediator, my Advocate, and my High Priest. You invite me to pour out my heart before You, to bring my needs, my burdens, my fears, and my desires, knowing that You will hear and answer according to what is best for me and most glorifying to You.
Grant me faith like Hezekiah’s, to turn my face away from the distractions of the world and set it wholly toward You in prayer. Teach me to walk before You in truth and with a perfect heart, not sinless but sincere and steadfast, with my will submitted to Yours. When I face affliction, illness, or uncertainty, remind me that You are the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that You have pledged to deliver me from every evil work and preserve me unto Your heavenly kingdom.
Strengthen me to trust Your providence when Your answers differ from my desires. Teach me to rest in Your timing, knowing that all Your ways are mercy and truth to those who keep Your covenant. Help me remember that Your deliverance may come in unexpected ways, but it will always come in the form that best serves my soul and advances Your kingdom.
I ask that You guard me from placing my trust in men, parties, or earthly powers, and instead fix my faith upon You alone. Let my life be a testimony to Your faithful rule, that others may see and glorify my Father in heaven. And when my time of final deliverance comes, bring me safely into Your presence, where I will praise You forever as my King, my Savior, and my God.
In Jesus’ name I pray.
Further Scripture References:
Psalm 50:15; 2 Kings 18:5; Psalm 26:3; Jonah 1:14
[1] William Thomas, Scriptures Opened (London: Printed for Sampson Evans, Bookseller in Worcester, 1675), 189–191.
