2 Chronicles 32.5 Then he worked hard repairing all the
broken sections of the wall and building towers on it. He built another wall
outside that one and reinforced the terraces of the City of David. He also made
large numbers of weapons and shields.
It wasn’t without mistakes; Hezekiah worked hard, but his
efforts weren’t flawless. I don’t want to call attention to his mistakes; I
think I’d call attention to his work ethic. He worked hard. Hezekiah undertook
a gargantuan task: turning the hearts of the people back to God. Isn’t that
part of why we go to church every week? (Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize you didn’t
go…)
It says of Hezekiah in 2 Kings 18.5: 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. Given who
he is compared to (David, Solomon, Uzziah, Jehoshaphat) Hezekiah gets a glowing
review. Given what he was faced with (national apathy, spiritual apathy, the
age of empires) Hezekiah worked hard. Not even Josiah gets the glowing
commendations of Hezekiah. But Hezekiah worked hard – his motivation was God.
I suppose there was a little bit of David in Hezekiah:
fearlessness in the face of these foreign kings who would make him a vassal. I
suppose there was a bit of Solomon in him as well: rebuilding and fortifying
the city. But Hezekiah had to make things go on his own and he, above all else,
sought God with all his heart. There are no records of his wives and his
children – he simply sought God.
Now, before we set up Hezekiah as some sort of superhuman,
we need to remember he wasn’t without his mistakes. He wasn’t without his
enemies. He wasn’t without his fears. But he was a man with God's heart, and in
spite of the setbacks we know he had, he stood firm in his faith: God was his
Rock and Anchor.
I think what stood out to me today was the short phrase: Then he worked hard… I think of a guy
with his work ethic together, a mind for detail, and a vision of what needed
to be done. But Hezekiah didn’t take his eyes off of the Lord. I admire that
and want to emulate that as well.
In my lifetime, I’ve faced some difficult things and it
strikes me as odd how often I’ve wanted to just take a break. I’ve gone through
the motions and checked the boxes but I haven’t had to face an invading army or
an arrogant emperor. But I have been called to work hard. Sometimes I couldn’t
recognize what that even meant.
Working hard is not a sweating king – it’s an attitude of knowing what needs to be done and a resolve to do it. That may mean saying ‘no’ to some things. It may mean saying ‘yes’ to other things. But more than anything, it means more than just being busy. Busy-ness is often just an excuse to put off what really needs to get done. The question for me: where is my heart in what I do, and where do I see God in what I do? I think Hezekiah’s heart was in the right place and so was his honor of God.
Father God, renew
my vision today of where my heart is, and where You are in what I do. May I be
filled again with the motivation of: whatever your hands find to do, do it with
all of your heart, and as unto God. It worked for Hezekiah – it can work for
me. In You. By You. And for You. Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment