Today’s scripture: 2 Kings 22:1-20; 23:1-3 (ESV-text and audio) (KJV) (The Message) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Mark Shoup):
We’ve all heard it before. When a man is driving somewhere, and finds himself lost, he will often stubbornly refuse to stop and ask for directions. Well, as a man myself, I can tell you that not only is that very true, but we will often continue going in the wrong direction for far too long because we believe if we go just a bit farther, things will start to look familiar again and we will know where we are. This is seldom true, though, and all we accomplish is getting farther off track before we inevitably must admit defeat and make the humbling u–turn and back track until we again get to familiar territory.
U-turns, while legal in the great state of Indiana unless otherwise posted, are nonetheless a humbling admission of one’s failure to get it right the first time. U-turns in the way one lives their life usually require the humbleness to come first. This was beautifully modeled by king Josiah in our reading today.
I don’t know how they managed to lose “The Book of the Law” in the first place. Maybe they had one too many Jerusalem temple pot luck dinners and put it under the leg of a wobbly table, I don’t know. But however it happened, when it was again recovered and The Law was read to Josiah, he acted with great humbleness and contrition. He performed a “spiritual u-turn” and began trying to follow The Law with all his heart. As the prophetess Huldah told him (and please don’t miss that this was a FEMALE prophet speaking the will of God), Josiah’s humbleness and contrition would ultimately save his life, or at least spare him from the impending disaster.
I think God shows great compassion for our authentic humbleness and eagerness to change our ways when we realize a life u-turn is needed. This is not the same as the attitude of “I’ll just recant on my death bed”, but rather the humble realization we have been living or doing something wrong in our lives, and the immediate regret and desire to make it right. God seems to recognize the genuine nature of this.
I almost titled today’s entry Humbling Oneself Before God. I really believe that praying to God with authentic humbleness and contrition really goes a long way in helping us to hear God’s voice. If you are confused or in doubt, try this:
For a week or two, spend 15 minutes of quiet time a day kneeling with your head on the floor in front of you, or as close to that humbling position as your body will allow. Spend that 15 minutes in prayer, but don’t ask God for anything you want or think you need. Rather, confess the sins you can remember and ask for forgiveness, and then spend the rest of the time expressing your love to God and thanking God for all that God has done for you.
If your experience is anything like mine, when you are done, you will feel blessed, with a closeness to God that you may not have felt in a long time.
Thought for the day: Remember, with God, u-turns are not only legal, they are encouraged!
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.