Habitual Grace

Isaiah 38:1-8 (see also 2 Kings 20)
In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, "Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover." Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the Lord: "Remember now, O Lord, I implore you, how I have walked before you in faithfulness with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: "Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of your ancestor David: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and defend this city. "This is the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he has promised: See, I will make the shadow cast by the declining sun on the dial of Ahaz turn back ten steps." So the sun turned back on the dial the ten steps by which it had declined.

I have this image of good King Hezekiah lying on his bed covered with sores knowing that he is deathly ill. Isaiah calls on the palace one evening and is ushered with hushed voices up the cold stone steps to the darkened King's chamber. Isaiah quietly pushes aside the draperies, and has a little talk with the King.

"Hezekiah, you're as good as dead! This is it! It's curtains man! Get your house in order! QUICK! BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE! … So says the Lord."

Not exactly a comforting bedside manner, is it? Not quite the words I would want to hear after years of faithfully following God's will. Not even a "Hey, Hezzie. Nice job on that Assyrian conquest. You lifted your faith to God rather than your swords, and He took care of it. Good going, buddy."

But there is more in this story. Much more. Hezekiah lifts up his life of faith to the Lord and pleads with Him to change His mind. Then he weeps bitterly, perhaps for hours.

The tears, like diamonds, fell to the floor and onto the heart of God -- like tears often do.

Then God changed His mind. Hezekiah gets a reprieve from his death sentence for the next fifteen years. A poultice of figs is applied to the sores and the good King recovers. A Grace period, indeed.

Is that Grace enough for God? Apparently not! God just can't help Himself. He has this awesome habit of not just sprinkling Grace around, but flooding us with it. Hezekiah did not need more proof that he would live another 15 years. The return of his health would have been a sufficient sign for the ever-faithful Hezekiah.

But sufficient is not enough when it comes to the giving of God. He turned back the sun 10 steps as a very clear sign that the God of the universe had just spoken. Humans are capable of healing themselves and healing others, but only the Creator can shift the rotational axis of the Earth changing the angle of the sun.

And only the Creator would choose to send His only son as the perfect sacrifice for us. Only the Creator would open the floodgates to this infinite Grace through our relationship with Jesus. Lord let Your Grace engulf me. Get me good and wet. Help me soak it in, splash it around to others and dive in for more. Oh Lord, that feels good!

Thank you dear God for your habitual Grace. Please never tire of my failures, my setbacks, my tripping up. For each one I hold up to You, offer me yet another Grace period – another chance for me to turn from my sin and face You, hear You, and follow Your lead. Amen.