Scripture: 2 Kings 18:17-25; 19:14-19, 35
One of the hardest parts of being on vacation last week was being away from my beloved dog, Ringo. You know how I love that silly dog. But I haven’t told you about the time he almost died—or at least it seemed that way—back in June of 2020, when he became seriously ill. He ate something he shouldn’t have. Not unusual for him—but this time his body couldn’t handle it. I think it was a stick, of all things.
He became dehydrated and lethargic, and my family and I were heartbroken.
And you know how it is… these things only happen on the weekend. So Ringo had to spend a Saturday night at a veterinary hospital. And this was during Covid, so we couldn’t even go inside—we just watched a vet technician walk him across the parking lot.
We felt completely helpless.
It’s not like we could explain to him what was happening: “Ringo, we know you’re hurting… and we know you want us with you… but we’re leaving you with people who care about you and will help you. And we’ll see you very soon.”
Of course, he couldn’t understand that. Aside from a handful of English words—some of which he ignores anyway—he doesn’t understand human language.
But when he reached the door of the hospital, he stopped, and turned, and looked back at Lisa and me. And his expression said something like:
“Why are you doing this to me? What did I do wrong? Is it over between us?”
I felt so much love for him in that moment… it wrecked me. But leaving him there, painful as it was, was the most loving thing we could do.
But I couldn’t explain that to him… which was why my dog was scared.
But that doesn’t explain why we are so often scared.
We—whose lives have been bought and paid for by the precious blood of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
So I find the question in 2 Kings 18:19—asked by this Assyrian official, the Rabshakeh—to be incredibly relevant: “On what do you rest this trust of yours?”
“Rest this trust of yours”… I love that phrase. Because I’ve trusted in Christ for 42 years—but my trust doesn’t always rest.
I believe in him. But I don’t always rest in him.
Instead, I get restless… anxious… worried… frustrated when things don’t go my way.
How about you?
So today, I want to help us learn to rest our trust in Christ—to have real confidence… real peace… real security.
And I want to do that with three points:
Number one: God is more powerful than our past. Number two: God is more powerful than our present trouble. And number three: God is more powerful than our ultimate enemies.
But first… God is more powerful than our past…
How did King Hezekiah get in this mess in the first place?
About 200 years earlier, the kingdom of Israel had a civil war and split in two. The northern kingdom retained the name “Israel,” and the southern kingdom was called Judah—that’s where Jerusalem and the Temple were located, that’s where descendants of David continued to sit on the throne.
Eight years before this moment, the Assyrian Empire had wiped out the northern kingdom. Meanwhile, Judah had survived—not because they were stronger militarily; they weren’t. And not because of their great faith in God… unfortunately. They survived the way small nations often do when threatened by a powerful neighbor: by paying them off. By becoming what’s called a vassal state. By trusting in Assyria instead of trusting in God.
By entering into this relationship with Assyria, by the way, Judah disobeyed God. We see this in Isaiah chapter 7. Judah is threatened by Syria and the northern kingdom of Israel. King Ahaz—Hezekiah’s father—is afraid of them. And in his fear, he considers turning to Assyria for help.
Isaiah, by contrast, tells King Ahaz to stay strong, to trust in God instead. As he famously tells the king, “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.”[1]
But Ahaz was not firm in faith. And he makes an alliance with Assyria.
And in that moment, what looked like a solution became a setup. Safety became slavery. Defense became dependence.
Because once you make that kind of deal… once you put your trust in a power like Assyria… you don’t just walk away when you feel like it.
You pay. And you keep paying. And eventually… if you can’t pay, they come to collect.
So that’s where we are at the beginning of chapter 18. King Hezekiah is dealing with the consequences of a past failure to trust God.
And when Hezekiah finally tries to be faithful to God—as verse 7 says, “He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him”—Assyria shows up at his doorstep with an army.
This is the mess he’s in. Not because of something he did… but because of something that was done to him… long before he showed up.
And here’s why that matters for us:
Because we all know what it’s like to live inside a story we didn’t fully write… to deal with consequences we didn’t create… to feel like the past is going to determine our future.
But brothers and sisters… the past is not more powerful than our God.
Think about John chapter 11. Lazarus has died. When Jesus arrives four days later, both Mary and Martha say the same thing: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”[2]
They believe Jesus had the power to heal… at least at one time, when Lazarus was still alive! But now it’s too late.
Lazarus is in the past. Four days dead. Beyond hope. In other words, they believe the past is more powerful than the Lord.
Who can’t relate to that?
One of my favorite songs, by a pioneer of Christian rock named Randy Stonehill, is called “Christmas at Denny’s,” and it tells the story of someone stranded alone on Christmas Day, looking back on his life. And the refrain says, “And I’m dreaming about how my life could have been… if only, if only, if only…”
What about you? Do you have any “if only’s”?
I used to. After all, I’m the genius who earned two undergraduate degrees and had launched out on two entirely separate careers—first, sales then engineering—before I finally said “yes” to God and entered pastoral ministry at age 34.
“If only I had become a pastor a decade earlier—like most of my peers… I’d be further along in my career… I’d have better, larger appointments—to those churches with the big steeples!”
Of course, in the North Georgia Conference of the UMC, I’d also have to compromise my high view of the authority and truthfulness of God’s Word… which is partly why God protected me—I’m sure—from the kind of “worldly success” I craved at one time.
Still… that was my “if only.” “If only I’d started my career sooner!”
But here’s the truth: if I had made different decisions… if I had answered God’s call earlier… if anything had gone differently in my career… I wouldn’t be here right now.
And I want to be here right now.
And I know God wants me here right now.
And I know God has something for me here right now—just as God has something for you here right now… Each of us is here right now “for such a time as this.”
My point is, God has completely transformed my “if only.” Just as he wants to transform you “if only’s”…
Because God is more powerful than the past.
And we need to hear that—not just individually, but as a church.
We are Methodists, after all. And if you’ve been in a Methodist church long enough, you’ve seen seasons in the life of the church—seasons of growth, and seasons of decline. In fact, the old United Methodist Church had been in decline for decades… now steep decline! And if we’re not careful, we can start believing that we Methodists are just not very good at evangelism… we’re not very good at reaching the lost with the gospel… we’re not very good at fulfilling the Great Commission.
After all, just look at our past…
Listen: every church in Five Forks, in Simpsonville, in Greenville County and beyond can be very effective at evangelism, and there will still be more than enough lost people who need Jesus to fill up every seat in this building and the one we’re building at 516 Godfrey Road.
Forget about the past… Forget about the foibles and failures of any previous church or denomination… They have nothing to do with what God wants to do through this new church, Five Forks Methodist.
Because God is more powerful than anything that’s happened in the past!
God, in his grace, is placing us in a growing community…
God, in his grace, is giving us a new space to reach people…
God, in his grace, is opening doors in front of us… that may never have been open to us before.
“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.” John 4:35.
And that’s Point Number One… God is more powerful than the past.
Number Two… God is also more powerful than any present trouble we might face…
And Hezekiah, in today’s scripture, has got trouble… with a capital “T”… and it rhymes with “P”… and that stands for Prime Minister of Assyria.
That’s what the word “Rabshakeh” literally means. It’s not a name—it’s a title. This prime minister, the Rabshakeh, has come to town demanding surrender.
Before today’s scripture, the Assyrians had already captured the fortified cities of Judah. Only Jerusalem remains. Jerusalem is well-defended and could hold out for months—but an Assyrian victory seems inevitable. So… why don’t we avoid all the trouble and expense of a long siege and just negotiate the terms of surrender? That’s why the Rabshakeh and his fellow delegates have come.
That’s trouble…
And I want to make two points about trouble… Consider this Point 2A if you’re taking notes… and this may sound strange:
Jesus promises that trouble will come to us as his disciples.
For instance, in Matthew 6:34. After telling us not to worry—about anything… for any reason… at any time—because God will always give us the grace we need to handle whatever comes our way… after all that, Jesus says this:
“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble,” Jesus says, “is enough for today.”[3]
“Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
That is a life principle to commit to memory right there, church!
Jesus promises that trouble will come—on a daily basis.
But he also promises that grace will come—on a daily basis—to meet that trouble.
That’s why he teaches us to pray for our “daily bread.” That bread is a symbol for the grace God gives us each day.
But here’s our problem: We’re not satisfied with daily bread.
We don’t just want grace for today’s trouble—we want grace right now for tomorrow’s trouble… next week’s trouble… next year’s trouble… We want grace for hypothetical situations… for worst-case scenarios… for all the things our anxious minds can dream up.
But Jesus never promises that kind of grace.
He promises daily grace.
And here’s what I know for sure… As of today, I’ve lived 20,486 days. And for every one of those 20,000-plus days, God has given me exactly what I needed for that day.
He has never failed. And all my anxiousness and worry about the future, by the way, has never succeeded. It’s never accomplished anything. I could have those 20,000-plus days without worrying, and I would still be exactly where I am today!
My point is, by now, you’d think I’d trust him… that when tomorrow comes, our Father will take care of me then, too.
Now, someone might say, “Don’t be naive! All sorts of bad things happen to Christians all the time… diseases, accidents, violent crime, war, torture, persecution… Watch the news! What if, for instance, you died in some freak accident on the way home from church? How would God be ‘taking care of you’ then?”
Well… if I die today and go to be with Jesus… I’d say God is taking excellent care of me, thank you very much.
So yes—today has trouble.
But today also has grace.
My second point about today’s trouble, Point 2B, is about prayer and God’s sovereign control of our world. And it concerns something the Rabshakeh says in verse 25:
“Is it without the Lord that I have come up against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”
Is he telling the truth? Did the Lord really say that?
It wouldn’t be the first time God spoke through an enemy: Remember when God used the wicked Balaam to prophesy on God’s behalf and to bless Israel… multiple times… when Balaam intended to curse them!
But whether or not God revealed this directly to Sennacherib is beside the point. We already know that God is using Assyria. Isaiah tells us so. He calls Assyria “the rod of [God’s] anger”[4]—an instrument of judgment and discipline.
So whether Sennacherib knows it or not… God is at work. Even here. Even in the midst of this trouble.
For all I know, God may have had 376,000 good reasons for permitting Assyria to do what they’re doing in today’s scripture. Isaiah gives us one of those reasons. But in today’s text, we see another.
In the next chapter, Hezekiah receives the same threatening message—this time in the form of a letter. And what does he do? Chapter 19, verse 14: “Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord.” And prayed.
I love that he spread out the letter before the Lord. “See this problem, Lord. I don’t know what to do.” Of course, God didn’t need to read the letter—but Hezekiah needed to show it to him. And it honored God that he did.
We can do the same thing: a bill we can’t pay… an email that upset us… something in the news… a photograph of a loved one in need.
Don’t just worry about it—show it to God. Unload your burden onto him. His hands are strong enough to hold it. And most of all… pray.
And it doesn’t have to be long or eloquent. One preacher pointed out how short Hezekiah’s prayer is—about 25 seconds. And look what God does: 185,000 enemy soldiers struck down.
Maybe one of those 376,000 reasons God allowed Assyria to invade was so that Hezekiah would pray this prayer.
And isn’t that how God often works?
God could stop our trials if he wanted to. But if he doesn’t, we can trust that he has good reasons. To strengthen our faith. To deepen our love for Christ. To help us depend on him instead of lesser things. To glorify his name.
Those are very good reasons indeed.
So let me ask you this:
Without Hezekiah’s prayer, would God have given Judah this victory?
We have no reason to think so.
God can do whatever he wants, of course. But often, what he wants is for his people to get on their knees and pray.
So here’s the question:
What victories might we be missing—in our lives, and in the life of our church—because we’re not praying as we should?
And yet… as important as prayer is… and as powerful as God is in our present trouble… this text is pointing us to something even greater.
Because Assyria is not the greatest threat God’s people face.
There are deeper enemies… enemies that no army, no king—not even Hezekiah at his best—could ever defeat.
Which brings us to Point Number Three…
We’ve seen that God is more powerful than our past… And God is more powerful than our present trouble…
But there’s one more thing we need to see: God is more powerful than our ultimate enemies.
Because let’s be honest: Assyria is not the real enemy in this story. Yes, they’re dangerous. Yes, they’re terrifying. Yes, they’re standing outside the gates waiting to attack…
But Assyria is nothing compared to the ultimate enemies of sin, death, and the devil—especially those lies that the devil so often whispers in the ears of God’s people, such as: “God can’t be trusted. God is mad at you. You are on your own in this crisis.”
King Hezekiah takes on each of these enemies… His faithfulness helps overcome the consequences of Judah’s sin… His courage helps save the lives of thousands… And if the Rabshakeh could be considered the mouthpiece of the devil, telling him, “God is against you. He won’t help you,” well… Hezekiah’s powerful prayer in the face of his fear helped win this battle against Satan.
Through his faith, and by God’s grace, Hezekiah won an incredible victory.
But here’s the thing: that victory was only temporary. Yes, Assyria was defeated… but sin wasn’t. Death wasn’t. Fear wasn’t. And while the devil lost an important battle, the “father of lies”[5] would be up to his deceitful tricks again soon enough.
Hezekiah won a battle over these enemies, for sure—but he didn’t and couldn’t win the war. Even in his own life! Read the next two chapters… The writer of 2 Kings documents how Hezekiah’s own sin and failure contribute to Judah’s ultimate destruction.
We need another King… a better king to defeat our ultimate enemies once and for all… And in our King Jesus, we have one!
On the cross, King Jesus takes our sin and pays the penalty for it. He defeats death for us by dying in our place. He enables us to become God’s beloved children—adopted into the family through faith. He enables us to call God, “Abba, Father,” the same name Jesus calls him.
He disarms the devil and the lies that he tells us.
So when the devil whispers, “God is mad at you,” we can now say, “How can that be when we’re covered in perfect righteousness of God’s Son Jesus! In our Father’s eyes, it’s as if we had never sinned.”
As Scripture says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”[6] Romans 8:1.
When the devil whispers, “God has abandoned you,” we can now say, “How can that be when God has given us his Spirit—God the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity—to live within each of us?”
As Jesus says, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”[7] John 14:18.
When the devil whispers, “God won’t help you,” we can now say, “How can that be when God took on flesh and became human in order that he could die for us —and suffer hell for us, so that we could be with him forever? If that doesn’t prove that God will help us, nothing will!”
As Scripture says, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”[8] Romans 8:32.
When the devil whispers, “God can’t be trusted,” we can now say, “How can that be when God loves us like the best human father we can imagine—except God loves us perfectly—and since he’s all-powerful and all-knowing and present wherever we go, we can know that he’ll always be working for our good?”
As Jesus says, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”[9] Matthew 7:11.
Remember Ringo… when the vet tech took him away from us into the animal hospital? He looked back at us as if to say, “Why are you doing this to me? Don’t you love me?”
He didn’t understand that what we were doing for him, in that painful moment, was the most loving thing we could possibly do for him. We wanted so badly to show him that we couldn’t love him more… If only we could show him!
Well… God doesn’t have that problem when it comes to his love for us… As Scripture says, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”[10]
That’s how we know our Father loves us.
[1] Isaiah 7:9b ESV
[2] John 11:21, 32 ESV
[3] Matthew 6:34 NLT
[4] Isaiah 10:5
[5] John 8:44
[6] Romans 8:1 ESV
[7] John 14:18 ESV
[8] Romans 8:32 ESV
[9] Matthew 7:11 ESV
[10] Romans 5:8 ESV