“This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard…” (Isaiah 37:6 NIV)
King Hezekiah brought his worries to God. He also involved the prophet Isaiah in the situation. Soon Isaiah came with a reassuring message: Hezekiah and the people did not need to fear the threatening words of the Assyrians. God would make sure that they returned to their own land and that the king of Assyria would be killed.
Not long afterward, however, new threatening letters arrived:
“Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.’” (Isaiah 37:10 NIV)
As proof of this claim, various other nations were listed that had already been conquered. Their gods had not been able to help them — so why should it be any different for Jerusalem’s citizens?
So here were two messages standing in direct opposition to each other. Hezekiah had to choose: would he trust God’s reassurance, or would he believe the Assyrian assessment that his situation was hopeless? Would he be guided by faith or by a sober view of the facts?
Perhaps you experience a similar tension between biblical promises of a kingdom of peace and the harsh reality of wars, natural disasters, and other suffering. How do you deal with that tension? Which message is decisive for you?