When you’ve been a Christian all your life, it’s very easy to fall into the trap of resting on your laurels. I say that from experience, because as I’ve shared on more than one occasion, I can’t honestly tell you when I came to know Jesus. I grew up believing in him, and I’ve constantly seen his miraculous hand of blessing and provision in my life.
The trouble is that the longer you’ve known someone, the easier it is for you to take them for granted. Have you ever experienced that with a close friend or family member? You become so comfortable in the relationship that you stop putting in the effort you did at first. Perhaps this is why some marriages fail in their latter years – because the couple have forgotten that relationships always take time and effort. I guess sometimes I can be like that with God. I take his presence for granted, like the very air I breathe or the water that flows out when I turn on a tap.
We can do wonderful and exciting things for Jesus during the early days of our Christian walk, but perhaps as the years go by and our zeal fades, we can step back a little. WE say things like: ‘I’m making room for the younger generation. It’s their turn now. I’ve done enough.’ But is this really an excuse for spiritual laziness?
Recently, my Bible readings have taken me into the story of Hezekiah. If there ever was an amazing king of Judah, it’s him. And it wasn’t the example of his father that made him a good king, because Ahaz actually shut the doors of God’s temple. Hezekiah’s love for God wasn’t inherited; it was something he grew and cultivated himself, probably with quality time spent in prayer and the study of the scriptures. Naturally, being an old testament king, the scriptures for him consisted of the law of Moses, and possibly some of the prophetic writings. We do know he had a close relationship with the prophet Isaiah, and since Isaiah was a man who regularly heard from God, it seems there was no better friend for the new king to have.
So when Hezekiah became king, he immediately set about undoing all the wrong his father had instigated. He re-opened the temple and re-instituted the things that were important to God, like the festival of Passover. When his kingdom came under attack from Assyria, Hezekiah knew where to turn. When a threatening letter arrived, he simply laid it out before God, lovingly and reverently saying, all be it not in these exact words: ‘This is your problem lord, not mine. It’s too big for me, but I know you can handle it.’
God did handle it by miraculously sending one angel to kill 185000 Assyrians in one night. That must have been some strong angel! Although Assyria had captured their relatives in the other ten tribes of Israel, captivity wasn’t to be Judah’s fate at this time. God heard the prayers of their faithful king, and life went on in peace and relative safety.
Hezekiah is highly commended in the Bible. I love these words written about him in 2Kings 18: 5-6. “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. He remained faithful to the Lord in everything, and he carefully obeyed all the commands the Lord had given Moses.” He is even likened to the nation’s greatest king in 2Chronicles 29 verse 2. “He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done.”
Can you imagine how excited and overawed Hezekiah must have been after the destruction of the Assyrian army! This was surely one of the high points in his reign. Yet as so often happens, if we’re not careful, our greatest moments of victory can be rapidly followed by our greatest defeats. Its’ when we’re on the mountaintop that we rest on our laurels. WE think we’ve made it. We think our work is done and we can now put our feet up.
What happened to Hezekiah was that he became deathly ill and the prophet Isaiah told him he was going to die. (2Kings 20: 1). When Hezekiah heard this, he pleaded with the Lord for his healing. I’m sure we would all do the same faced with a similar situation. We’ve all prayed for extra time with loved ones who seem close to the end. Incredibly, having heard the king’s pleas, the Lord changed his mind and promised Hezekiah another fifteen years of life. (2Kings 20: 6.) He even gave proof that the miracle would take place by moving the shadow back on the sun dial Hezekiah’s father had built. In effect, God moved time backward for the king just to show he was still in control.
Hezekiah was by now a famous king, and stories about him had spread far and wide. The king of Babylon doubtlessly wanted to know if everything he’d heard was true, so he sent envoys to Judah to meet with Hezekiah. The excited and newly healed king eagerly showed them everything he had – all the silver, the gold, and everything in his palace treasuries. (2Kings 20: 13.) Had this Godly king fallen into the trap of showing off?
I wonder how often I’ve fallen into this self same trap. I don’t have silver and gold to display, but do I try and show off my spiritual gifts? Do I laud it over others because I have been given the gift of teaching, or because I know the Bible relatively well after several years of study? Do I look down my nose on those who are just starting out, or on those who are still struggling with something the Lord has helped me overcome? Do I forget where I came from – the traps I’ve fallen into and the mistakes I’ve made in the past? Do I forget that I’m still as susceptible to mistakes as anyone else, no matter how many years I’ve known Jesus? I still sin. I still easily fall into the pit of pride.
Hezekiah had received fifteen gracious extra years of life, but what did he do with them? Did he finish as he had started – strong and faithful to God? Did he keep encouraging his people to look to God alone, or did he become too obsessed with the physical – the silver and gold he’d amassed? We certainly know the Lord wasn’t happy with his pride and his bragging to the envoys from Babylon, because Isaiah confronted him and declared that one day, everything he’d shown to the men from Babylon would be carried off along with his people into captivity. Even some of his own sons would be part of the exile. (2Kings 20: 17-18.)
You’d think this message would have brought Hezekiah up short. But his reaction is startling. “Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “This message you have given me from the Lord is good.” For the king was thinking, “At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime.” Can this really be the same man who was recently concerned his people would be invaded by the Assyrians? What’s changed? I would say he’s now looking inward instead of outward and focusing on his personal comfort and ease rather than on the things of God.
It’s easy for us to judge Hezekiah, but we’ve all been there. We’ve all heard the saying: ‘I’m all right, Jack’, meaning that as long as we’re comfortable, it doesn’t matter about anyone else. We’ve all looked away at atrocities and injustice done to others, declaring it’s not our place to get involved. But if it’s not our place, then whose is it? Aren’t we God’s hands and feet here on this earth? Aren’t we his ambassadors to a dying and hurting world? Aren’t we the ones who are supposed to speak up for right and justice?
We may have done great things for God in the past. We may have taught Bible studies, led prayer meetings, even led people to Jesus, but it’s not over until God says it’s over. As long as we’re alive, we have work to do, and it’s Kingdom work. There aren’t enough Christians in this world for any of us to rest on our laurels. We need to pray for the desire to finish our journeys as we started – eager and on-fire for God. WE can’t afford to let pride, ease, or self-centredness step in.
I’m writing this for myself as much as for anyone else, because I need to hear it. I like to be cosy and comfortable as much as the next person, but we’re in a war. WE have an enemy, and he’s out to kill, steal and destroy. He doesn’t want any more people becoming Christians. He also doesn’t want God’s people realising and acknowledging the power that’s within us. When Hezekiah acknowledged and was living in that power, he led his people as a brave king, telling them not to be afraid of the invading Assyrian army because their God was big enough to handle them. And God proved him right. But when he began living for himself instead of God, he showed off, was consumed by pride, and became so self-absorbed that he didn’t even care when the prophet told him his own sons would be led into captivity.
If we want to leave a good legacy for the next generation, we have to be thinking ahead instead of constantly looking back on what God has done before. That was then, but this is now. There’s still a work to be done because every day dear people are dying in their sins and facing the consequences while we rest on our laurels and enjoy our relative Christian ease. We’ve got to finish as we started. We have to carry the baton to God’s glory so we can pass it on whole and unchanged to the next generation. And when we have passed it on, we’ve got to keep running alongside them until God chooses to take us out of the race, not sit back and either applaud or criticise them from the side-lines. By God’s grace, we can finish well.