KING HEZEKIAH'S DILEMMA: "God's Will OR Change It (for personal sake)"

2 Kings chapter 20 actually speaks of Hezekiah changing his mind when approached by God through prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz. Moreover, it reveals that God's eternal plan is unchangeable. Let's read the text:
2 Kings 20:1-11, 21, 2:1 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, "This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover." Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, "Remember, O LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes." And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him: "Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, 'This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the LORD. I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.'" Then Isaiah said, "Prepare a poultice of figs." They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered. Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, "What will be the sign that the LORD will heal me and that I will go up to the temple of the LORD on the third day from now?" Isaiah answered, "This is the LORD's sign to you that the LORD will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?" "It is a simple matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps," said Hezekiah. "Rather, have it go back ten steps." Then the prophet Isaiah called upon the LORD, and the LORD made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz... Hezekiah rested with his fathers. And Manasseh his son succeeded him as king... Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother's name was Hephzibah.

In the text, God gives a conditional judgment. Hezekiah knew that God alone determines when repentance will turn his wrath aside (2 Sam. 12:22; Joel 2:14; Jonah 3:9). Hezekiah repents and God adds fifteen years to his life. If Hezekiah had not repented, then God, true to his nature, would have carried out his judgment in full.

This makes me wonder...

...Does God Almighty delight more when we accept his will "as Hezekiah clearly did not and asked God to change His will to accommodate him" AND GOD DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yet, if one were diagnosed with a terminal illness like cancer or whatever illness Herzekiah had is it more faithful to glorify God in the midst of one's illness and accept His will that you endure (even unto death), OR and I don't think it is a better option to follow King Hezekiah's lead and ask God to "change His Mind / Will" for your own personal sake...in contrast, to ask to change His will and "remove the illness", lest you be offended by God's will for you to endure the illness.

It reminds me of MATTHEW 11: 5 - 6:

(5) "The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

(6) "And blessed is he, whoever shall not be offended in me."

I interpret this in relationship to Hezekiah's appeal to God to change His will.

Christ is saying to me in the above mentioned verses (Matt 11:5 -6)"

"Even if it is the Will of the Father that you are a leper whom He chooses NOT TO HEAL, or a Blind Man whom via His Will CHOOSES NOT TO GIVE SIGHT, (in spite of your "Hezekian" prayers) BLESSED ARE YOU WHO REMAINS BLIND OR LEPROUS AND DOES NOT TAKE OFFENSE TOWARDS CHRIST, YET ACCEPT AND TRUST IN FAITH THAT THIS IS GOD'S WILL FOR YOUR LIFE..."

....

Yes, scripture verifies that the harrowingly wicked King Manassek sprung from the loins of a righteous King Hezekiahwe ????!!!??? (II KIngs 21).

How!!!

How and why did a "MANASSEH" come from a "HEZEKIAH" (still scratching my head)...

All I am saying is that we should not be offended by the discomforts of God's Will...

...As Christians...are we not called to "anguish" in this world?!? (SermonIndex has a sermon about our "Call to Anguish")...

More to Come...

Jesus DID NOT HEAL EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remember, Nazareth (his own hometown), whereby He marveled at their unbelief and could perform no miracles nor healings:

1 He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4And Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” 5And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6And he marveled because of their unbelief. (Mark 6:1-6, ESV)

Some simple observations;

This was Jesus’ hometown, where the people most likely knew him for years before he ever entered public ministry of any kind.

The end of verse 3 says they took offense at him seemingly in part because of their familiarity with him. "Is not this the carpenter?”

Verse 5 doesn’t say that he could do no miracle at all, but that he could do no ‘mighty‘ work there. Many people don’t read the rest of the verse ”” the rest of the sentence even ”” to see that he did perform healings there, amongst those who were brought to him, who got healed of sickness, whatever that sickness or those sicknesses may have been.

And what about the THORN IN PAUL'S SIDE?????/ HMMMM????

(1) Paul had a thorn

(2) Paul left someone sick somewhere (it’s Trophimus in Miletus, see 2 Tim 4:20) and...

(3) Paul told Timothy to drink wine for his frequent stomach problems (1 Tim 5:23).

If you are offended with God, because He has healed someone else but not you, then you need to repent ”” your offense is an easy way to block the outflow of the grace of God into your life, and your body. I have seen people seek after healing repeatedly and seemingly nothing changed, but when they realized this or changed their mind and their confession about how God was dealing with them, the breakthrough came instantly.

NO, THE ALTERNATIVE IS TO NOT TAKE OFFENSE IN CHRIST, PERCHANCE YOUR HEALING DOES NOT COME (PUUUULLEEEEZE SEE MATTHEW 11:5 -6 ESP VERSE 6).

I'M NOT BEING OBTUSE, I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO...

IF YOU ARE SICK AND HAVE NOT RECEIVED YOUR (IN SPITE OF THE PRAYERS OF THE SAINTS)..

...IS IT SO "OBTUSE" TO ACCEPT THAT THIS SICKNESS MAY BE GOD'S WILL FOR YOUR LIFE, IN THAT, YOU MAY GLORIFY EVEN VIA YOUR SICKNESS IN A WAY WHICH COULD NOT COMPARE WITH THE RESTORATION OF YOUR HEALTH....

...BLESSED ARE YOU WHOM ACCEPT THINE INFIRMITY IN THE PERCHANCE THAT IT COULD BE USED FOR GOD'S GLORY AND IN THE MIDST OF THINE INFIRMITY HOLD FAST TO THE ADVICE OF HEBREWS 10:35-36:

"So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised."

AND LEST WE FORGET THE BLIND MAN IN JOHN 9: 2-3:

"His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?

"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him."

is that obtuse enough for you TMK???!!!???

I LOVE YOU WITH CALVARY'S LOVE AND WOULD STILL DIE FOR YOU. THOUGH I

KNOW YOU NOT...TMK

TAKE NOT OFFENSE..

...COME, ARE WE NOT JUST REASONING TOGETHER?!?

AND ISN'T IT FUN!!!!

LOVE-IN-CHRIST

KyP

...God's WILL be done...

There is a difference between what we want and God's WILL. The goal of prayer is to submit and align your will with His WILL...instead of just asking Him for stuff ALL THE TIME..ask that His Will be done...

...Why do we presuppose (via our prayers to God the Father in Jesus' Name) that the outcome of what we pray for (I.e., healing, safety, health, cures, etc.) will be better than which God has WILLED for us. God Almighty.

It's like we, either don't trust His Will or we take offense to it if it does not meet our immediate need(s) or desires...

..Again, I send you to Matthew 11: 5-6 - Blessed is He who does not receive the healing of the leper or the sight of the blind man, and makes it not a stumbling block or takes offense in Christ Jesus for administering the Divine WILL of The Father instead that which you asked or prayed for...

make sense...

...No...then let's do a review King Hezekiah's Folly in audaciously Asking God to change His WILL to accommodate his own will / desire(s):

And as much as I LOVE King Hezekiah, I believe he committed a folly (which may have contributed to that cursed boy king which sprung from his loins before his death) in asking God to change His Will...

...The account of King Hezekiah’s illness is recorded thrice (2 Kings 20:1-); (2 Chron. 32:24-33); (
Isa. 38:1-22). The text speaks of both physical and spiritual sickness. The former is an expression of faith, the latter an expression of folly...

...The prophet Isaiah came to Hezekiah, saying, "Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.”

...All shall die, but not all are given such an advance warning. Accordingly, while Isaiah’s message brought grief, it was also a source of blessing, giving the king the chance to prepare to meet God. Since the future is uncertain, we should be prepared, both for our own death and the Lord’s promised return (Prov. 27:1O); (Amos 4:11-13); (Luke 12:35-40)...

...Hearing this sentence, Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, prayed and wept bitterly: "Remember now, O Lord, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight” (2 Kings 20:2-3O); (2 Chron. 32:24);
(Isa. 38:2-3)...

...The depth of his despair is conveyed in a writing of Hezekiah that was penned after his illness and recovery (Isaiah 38:9-22)...

...In response to Hezekiah’s request, God provided a remarkable sign: the sun’s shadow on the stairway went backward ten steps (2 Kings 20:8-11); (Isa. 38:7-8)...

Unfortunately, this story ends in sadness. God answered the king’s prayer, granting him an additional fifteen years of life, providing a dramatic sign of confirmation. However, "Hezekiah gave no return for the benefit he received, because his heart was proud; therefore wrath came on him and on Judah and Jerusalem” (2 Chron. 32:24-26).

Pride is one of Satan’s most effective tools, sometimes going hand-in-hand with the lust of the flesh and the eyes, sometimes existing separately (1 John 2:15-17); (Gen. 3:1-7); (Prov. 11:2); (Prov. 16:18); (Prov. 18:12);

In Hezekiah’s case, it was reflected in his vainglorious reaction to representatives from the king of Babylon, when he foolishly showed them his accumulated treasures
(2 Kings 20:12-21); (Isa. 39:1-8).

The great test of faith comes not when we receive news that offends us, insults us, or seems to threaten our lives. Rather, we ought to trust in God's Will instead of being offended by His WILL by attempting to "pray" Him into changing His WILL to accommodate our desires.
Afterall, who knows what's best for us at the end of the day?

I became sick with a crippling chronic illnesses which started in my twenties.

I never prayed for anything regarding my disabling illnesses...just that God's Will be done...

And, Voila! a little over a decade later He has healed me to full functionality...

...Perhaps it was His WILL that I be healed...

...I know that I LOVE the Lord just as much as a healed person as I did when I was bedridden(ly) sick and infirm.

When I was sick, it did NOT hinder His access to grow and develop my spiritual health and intimacy with Him. It's the health and strength of the Inner Man (soul and spirit) that gives us access to God's nature. True worshippers worship God in Spirit and in Truth (John 4: 23-24). Jesus says that these true worshipers "must worship in spirit and truth”

...God's grace enables us to do this whether we are sick or healthy...

The simplest thing in the world, Todd, is to rely on God's Will...alone.

...To REST in it...

REMEMBER, I LUUVVVV YOU, TMK WITH CALVARY'S LOVE, (MEANING: I'D GO TO THE CROSS FOR / WITH YOU), THOUGH WE MAY DISAGREE...I WILL STILL EMBRACE YOU WHEN I SEE YOU IN THE KINGDOM SOMEDAY AND, FURTHERMORE, WILL REMEMBER YOU AND THIS FELLOWSHIP IN SCRIPTURE...

...ISN'T THAT AWESOMELY WORTHWHILE?!?

THIS IS HOW YOU PRAY:

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come, THY WILL BE DONE IN EARTH, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen

Now, the verse at Matther 6:10 stands out to me as Christ saying the following:

"Pray for HIS WILL to be done in your Life. Say.

'Gracious Father God Almighty, in Jesus Precious Name, according to YOUR WORD (in which I believe, via the faith thru grace which you have given me in as it says in Romans 5:1 - and thank you so much for this faith), in Jeremiah 29: 11:

'Even if my body and/or soul is being held in captivity (like that of Israel under Babylon) via mine own besetting sin holds, sickness, disease, fear, etc.;

'According to YOUR WORD and YOUR WILL, YOU SAID IN JEREMIAH 29: 11:

"'I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out””plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for."

'And because I believe YOUR WORD, all that I need to pray is a prayer which applies to all my circumstance,

'That is that YOU, LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, align and submit my wilL to YOUR WILL,

'YOU see, Lord, I want what YOU want. I don't want my wants anymore, I don't trust their outcomes in my life,

"Yet, I totally trust what YOU WANT for my life, though I may not understand it nor like it, MAKE ME UNDERSTAND IT, LIKE..NO, LOVE YOUR DIVINE WILL, AND BE NOT OFFENDED BY IT.

' Submit, Align and to Rest in it,

"Make me to desire YOUR WILL in my life"

That is how I Pray via my interpretation of Matthew 6: 10 AND lest we forget Matthew 11: 5-6