Tues.’s Devo - God’s Way is Always Best

Read: 2 Kings 20:1-22:2; Acts 21:17-36; Psalm 150:1-6; Proverbs 18:9-10
The story of the end of Hezekiah’s days shows us that we can bend God’s heart to change his mind but his plans are always best and it would go better for us if we kept them the way he wanted. Hezekiah was about to die of an infection when Isaiah came to tell him to get his house in order before he died. Hezekiah appealed to the Lord and begged him to change his mind, reminding him all he had done for the Lord.
The Lord did change his mind and sent Isaiah back to him to tell him he could have 15 more years. He must not have liked any of his sons enough to take his place because in the fifteen years he had left, he found a woman and had a son by her and when he died the son was 12. That son was one of the wickedest kings Israel had had. His wickedness surpassed the idol worship of the heathen nations and undid everything his father had done towards righteousness just like Isaiah had predicted. God saw the sin and said that he would bring such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah that it would astound the heathen. He would forsake his remnant and give them over to their enemies.
Manasseh shed innocent blood which is just what American is doing as long as there is abortion. Don’t thing for a moment, that what they do in New York is not affecting the rest of our nation. It is. There were many people in Jerusalem and Judah that still worshipped the Lord during this time but what the head does is how the nation is judged. We need to keep our leaders in prayer that they would fear God and do the right thing.
Amon, Manasseh’s son became king at the age of 12, the same age Manasseh had been when he became king. He only ruled for 2 years until he was murdered by his servants. I guess they didn’t want another reign like his father’s. They made Josiah who was 8 to be the king. I’m guessing he was Manasseh’s son also. Josiah was a good king who feared the Lord.
In Acts, we see that their was so much misunderstanding in shifting from the law to grace. Every time there is something new God wants to do, there is tension, transition and misunderstanding in those who want to hold on to the old and those who want to embrace the new. In Paul’s day it became physically violent. Paul was the pioneer to bring in the new and fight for truth.
Lord, help us to embrace the new thing that you are doing in the earth. We are in a major shift in the spirit and we don’t want to be on the opposing side but the side that is flowing right into the new.