Isaiah 35-37

Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD; "O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.

"It is true, O LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God."

The Assyrian king sent a word to Hezekiah via messenger and pretty much told him he is doomed, if he doesn't surrender. He gave Hezekiah examples after examples of how all other nations were never spared from Assyria. And that the LORD cannot save him. He even went as far as to say that God told him to march against the land Hezekiah ruled over and to destroy it.

This just reminds me of all the reasoning the devil uses to discourage me from my walk with God. And when I allow myself to dwell in these thoughts, the more discouraged I get.

The moment Hezekiah received this letter from the Assyrian messenger, he humbled himself before God and prayed. This is something I don't always do, and I struggle unnecessarily for it.

We serve the one and only living God. And he longs to take care of his children. We just need to humble ourselves and lift ourselves up to him in prayer. Praise God:)

Isaiah 29-31

The Lord says:

"These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."

Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the LORD, who do their work in darkness and think, "Who sees us? Who will know?" You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, "He did not make me"? Can the pot say of the potter, "He knows nothing"?

I was reminded from reading this that I am made by God. Not just in part, but fully made by him. If I find myself with some wisdom and intelligence, then I should praise God for it, for everything comes from him. He is my potter, and I am his precious clay:)