Sunday, January 13, 2013

The Lord Lengthens Hezekiah's Life

Today I read 2 Kings 20 where Hezekiah was told that he would die by Isaiah.  He asked if it were possible to live a little longer and serve his people.  The Lord agreed to allow Hezekiah to live another 15 years.  It is interesting that Hezekiah wanted a sign and the Lord through Isaiah allowed Hezekiah to pick his own sign.  Hezekiah was asked if he wanted the shadow to go down 10 degrees or back up 10 degrees.  Hezekiah wisely chose the one that was not natural and wanted to see the light go backwards.  I have to agree that if I had been in Hezekiah's shoes I would want to see the light go backwards as well.

I have a feeling that the Lord would not have allowed a wicked king to lengthen out his life, only one that was willing to serve him.  Most likely the reason the Lord allowed Hezekiah to live is because He knew that Hezekiah would serve him and do what was right in His sight.  I believe it was President Spencer W. Kimball that taught a righteous man will not be taken before his time.  So we can know for certain that when someone who serves God is taken to rest in His bosom, it is the right time for that person to pass on.  There is comfort in that.  Especially when we lose someone who is close to us.  It is sad for us, but we can have comfort in knowing that we are fulfilling the plan of our Heavenly Father.  When we allow our will to be swallowed up in His it opens up a whole new world of opportunity to us.  We will find ourselves losing ourselves for His sake.  And as we know, that is never a bad thing.  Until tomorrow.

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