We humans are incredibly complex, capable of endless surprises, mystifying decisions and astonishing turnarounds. Our mental gymnastics would make a champion athlete stagger! No wonder Jesus did not commit himself to those who believed only because of miracles – “he knew what was in man,” (John 2:24,25)
He saw little Zacheus up the tree and knew he had worked out ways to over-compensate himself for what he lacked in life. (A Danny DeVito look-alike in a sycamore tree.) The diminutive taxman climbed down, ready to put things more than right. Life isn’t about our physical shortcomings – it’s about our spiritual stature: about coming to see ourselves as Christ sees us.
He saw the Samaritan woman’s life as one of false securities and failed relationships. In a few short words, Jesus told her – as she later put it – “everything I ever did!” Her experience with men had left this woman without any illusions. A man so knowing, yet so sensitive, so understanding – had to be the Christ!
How do we know what is in us? We don’t. At least, not until a major crisis tells us more about ourselves than we’d prefer to know! Overall, Hezekiah was a pretty good king. He regarded King David as his spiritual father. In the first year of his reign he re-opened the temple doors to revival, and purified it. He restored true worship. He prepared the Passover. He cleansed the land of its idols. He made proper provision for the priesthood. And when Assyria, the first world empire, invaded, God heard his prayers and destroyed their army overnight.
Then there was Hezekiah’s personal miracle: when the king was dying of illness, the Lord heard his prayer and healed him, adding 15 years more years to his life.
But when ambassadors from Babylon asked Hezekiah about the miracle of turned-back time that had signified the healing (2 Kings 20:7-11), hidden pride surfaced! God had “left him” to try him, “that he might know all that was in his heart.” (2 Chronicles 32:31)
Surprise, surprise! The Lord had known it already, of course, but the good king hadn’t. Some have said that if God had not extended Hezekiah’s life by fifteen years, pride would not have blemished his record. But God’s grace was shown in the adding of those years, for during them his hidden pride was revealed, and Hezekiah had time to repent.
Ask yourself: What does the Lord see still hidden in me? The things nobody else sees. The things we don’t see ourselves. “Lead us not into temptation” – “Do not put us into a situation that we are not able to handle” – should be our daily prayer. Who knows: we too might be dismayed at how readily we responded to the enemy’s tempting flatteries.
Like good king Hezekiah, we need a little more time, and a lot more grace!