“Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him. “With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. 2 Chronicles 32:7-8
Hezekiah had a secret weapon and he needed it. As king of Judah, he and his people were being threatened by the king of Assyria. This was not Hezekiah’s first encounter with an enemy that threatened to wipe out he and his people. By the time we come to these verses he had been ruling Judah for fourteen years and had already dealt with more than one mortal enemy. And here he is again, being threatened by a force so formidable that by any human measure, the odds were certainly against him.
So, what is the secret weapon that would eventually lead Hezekiah to victory against Assyria? The Lord. In the previous chapter we learn that everything Hezekiah did to seek and to serve the Lord he did with all of his heart. Does that mean that Hezekiah was perfect and never made a mistake in his entire life? No. But God looks beyond our imperfections to see our heart. When you seek the Lord with all of your heart you will be blessed — even if you find yourself surrounded by the enemy seeking to destroy you and everyone and everything that is dear to you!
Back to the battle at hand. The king of Assyria begins to taunt God’s people and compares the Lord to all of the false gods of the other cities he has successfully destroyed up to that point. The obvious problem with this boast and all others like it is that there is no god like Jehovah. He is the One True God and besides Him there is no other. The enemy may claim many victories to try and intimidate you and convince you to give up, but always remember; he has never conquered nor will he ever conquer your God!
That brings us to Hezekiah’s secret weapon; and your secret weapon. The Lord is always with you to help you and to fight your battles when your heart, like Hezekiah’s, is true to Him. It is important to remember that you can be doing everything right and truly seeking to follow the Lord and still find yourself surrounded by the enemy. There will always be battles, but that is not an indication of being outside of God’s will. Rather, it is a reminder that there is an enemy in this life who is seeking to destroy everything good that God is doing — and everything good is worth fighting for!
And this battle, how does it end? The way it always does in the end. The Lord wins and His people are victorious. In this case, the Lord sent one angel and struck down all of the mighty men of the Assyrian army along with the leaders and the king returned shamefaced to Nineveh where he was killed worshipping in the temple of his false god. One angel.
No matter how big the battle is that you are facing and how much destruction has already been accomplished by your enemy, you are never outnumbered when the Lord is on your side. He will help you and fight for you so be strong and courageous in Him!
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One response to “Strong and Courageous”
Thank you pastor