One morning the Lord dropped this thought into my spirit. The importance of stewarding lessons learnt from encounters and experiences to the point where they are part of your identity. I believe this is very important as being a good steward in this context involves learning, on an ongoing basis, from encounters and experiences with the Lord, to the point that they become part of our identity. What I mean by this is that every expression of the Lords kindness, manifests (outworks) through one of these two ways ; an encounter or an experience. These expressions of his kindness reveal more of His nature and bring us into a greater understanding of His role in our identity ! By contrast a casual, carefree attitude towards learning from these expressions of His glory could easily slip us into a place that is self-centred (self occupied), resulting in us walking straight out of our Godly identity.
1st King Hezekiah during His reign did some amazing things, never done by other kings to date ; removing high places was one ! 2 Kings 18:4-6 (NKJV)
He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan. He trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. For he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses.
But something happened at the end of his life that was just as incredible in a different way.2 Kings 20:1-21 (NKJV))Hezekiah’s Life ExtendedIn those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.’ ”Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying, “Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. And it happened, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. And I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake, and for the sake of My servant David.” ’ Then Isaiah said, “Take a lump of figs.” So they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What is the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the Lord the third day?”Then Isaiah said, “This is the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing which He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees or go backward ten degrees?”And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees; no, but let the shadow go backward ten degrees.”So Isaiah the prophet cried out to the Lord, and He brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down on the sundial of Ahaz.The Babylonian EnvoysAt that time Berodach-Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. And Hezekiah was attentive to them, and showed them all the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?”So Hezekiah said, “They came from a far country, from Babylon.”And he said, “What have they seen in your house?”So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.”Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord. And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ ”So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “Will there not be peace and truth at least in my days?”Death of HezekiahNow the rest of the acts of Hezekiah—all his might, and how he made a pool and a tunnel and brought water into the city—are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? So Hezekiah rested with his fathers. Then Manasseh his son reigned in his place.
Sadly, his son went on to destroy all his fathers Godly works.This record of an otherwise faithful kings life highlights what happens by not stewarding (valuing) and learning from the expressions of the Lords glory (the miracle healing and 15 years added to his life). Hezekiah let his passion and attention slip into a place that was self-occupied and as a result walked straight out of his identity . Wow that’s powerful ! This shows the importance of our testimonies(record of God’s goodness) in our walk towards establishing our identity in Christ. Stacking up our God records to stand on and reach higher into the future with Him !
So here is your challenge today.
1. Write down 50 things the Lord has done for you (testimony). Don’t worry if you start slowly recalling and writing; they will come, take your time. 2. Ask the Lord to show you how your identity has fitted into your testimony ?3. Write down 20 testimony’s of others you know. 4. Give thanks, for He is Good and His mercies endure forever.
Let’s pray
Father, thank You for all You do, have done and continue to do in calling us to become the children You created us to be. I ask that You help us to be people that honour You through the testimonies we have of encounters and experiences of Your goodness and kindness to us ! May You always be the centre of all we do and say as You call us deeper into this journey of discovering our identity through You. Amen
