Bible Reading: Isaiah 38:1-end
“And said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore”
– Isaiah 38:3 (KJV)
When told that he should keep his house in order because he was going to die, Hezekiah, the King, made a notable petition to God presenting his score card. He reminded God of walking before Him in truth and with a perfect heart, claiming to have done that which was good in the sight of God. He reminded God of His word and laid hold on God promises. He claimed that he was deprived of the residue of his life. He presented his petition and questioned why his days should be cut off. The Most High God weighed Hezekiah’s petition and granted him additional fifteen years to live, which is the residue of his life.
A petition that was faultless before God cannot be questioned by man. God went through Hezekiah’s file in heaven and found out that, of a truth, Hezekiah was true to all he stated in his score card. Our God is a God of truth and justice. Hezekiah reminded God of His covenant statement in Psalm 90:10 (KJV), “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away” – Psalm 90: 10(KJV), and petitioned for the residue of his life. Because he was aware of this promise, he requested the just God to uphold His word as stated in Exodus 23:26 (KJV), “There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren in the land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.”
Hezekiah presented the score card of his walk with God and was justified of his petition by the just God who cannot lie. The question is, what score card can we present before the Almighty God and be considered faultless and justified? With the diluted Christian life of this generation, can we find someone who can make claim to his living in truth and with a perfect heart? Can we find a committed Christian who can lay claim to have done that which is good in the sight of God all through his life? Most Christians lie even when paying their tithe, because they feel no one knows what their income is. Some falsify documents in other to increase their claim in their offices. I doubt if we can find a handful of Christians in this generation whose petition is faultless and justified before God. They even lie through exaggeration and embellishment when they are giving their testimony on the altar.
It is expected that when we received Christ into our life, we are justified and are made recipients of a new birth. We are now born into the family of God, we drop the garment of sin and put on the garment of righteousness. Our old nature is removed and replaced with our new life in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). With the entrance of Christ into our life we are expected to live in truth and in righteousness, which is the characteristic of our new birth in Christ. This, in effect, guarantees our longevity as stated in Psalm 91:16 (KJV) “With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.”
Prayer: Father, guide me in the way of truth that I may live to worship you all the days of my life.
Bro. Joel Ezeugo