Thoughts: Hannah's Blog

I don’t know if it is because I’m growing old. I seem to have obtained a different perspective on the days that go by. I’m probably closer to my day of death than my day of birth. A morbid thought? Maybe. But true! Time is a currency we cannot earn and I have spent so much of it not thinking about how much I have left.

Everyone is dealt a different amount. Some more and some less but what matters most is how we spend the amount that has been placed with us. Recently I was reading about King Hezekiah of how he was granted 15 years more to his life.

When he heard the news from the prophet that he was going to die because of his illness, it says in Isaiah 38 verse 3: “Then he broke down and wept bitterly.” (NLT version)

After God relents, just to prove that he would recover, God made the sun go back ten steps in the sundial. He saw the brokenness and bitter tears of a human and he moved the heavens – the skies and the natural order of things! How amazing is our God!

15 years is so specific, so definite, so finite. I learned that he became king at the age of 25, he was sick unto death at 39 and then given 15 more years, so he must’ve died at 54. After 39, he gave birth to his son Manasseh who then became king at the age of 12. 

After knowing about the 15 years, I was thinking how did he spend the rest of his birthdays? Did he feel that he was inching towards death? Was he counting down? How did he spend his time then?

We get to read this summary about Hezekiah’s doings in 2 Chronicles 31 “…doing what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.” And in Chapter 32 we read about his sickness and the aftermath:

“In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the Lord, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign.  But Hezekiah’s heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the Lord’s wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem. Then Hezekiah repented of the pride of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore the Lord’s wrath did not come on them during the days of Hezekiah.”

The chapter goes on to list his achievements: how much wealth he acquired, the buildings, villages and dams he built. The thing that stands out for me is verse 29 which says for God had given him very great riches and he succeeded in everything he undertook. Looks like he undertook a lot – maybe because he was conscious of the clock that was ticking? He wanted to make his life worthwhile, so he could accomplish all that God had wanted him to do?

But we also come to the part where he falls short. 2 Chronicles 32:31 says: But when envoys were sent by the rulers of Babylon to ask him about the miraculous sign that had occurred in the land, God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart.

It says God wanted to test him to know what was in his heart, and during the test it was found that pride was in his heart, so that had to be dealt with. The Bible says he repented of his pride and so did the people of Jerusalem.

Hezekiah had gone through a lot in life. He had to face enemies at his gate, he had to live through the siege, the famine and the constant threat from the Assyrians. We see that every time trouble came, he sought the Lord and God delivered him. He was a warrior God who fought the battle for him and won with just one angel.

What an amazing life he lived in spite of the finiteness of it all! Or was it because he knew how finite his time was?

What about us? We know not how much time we have left. How much more, then, should we commit to living a life that is worthwhile. So that on the final day, when we meet with our Lord, we will be able to hear his loving voice say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”