Finding What We Seek

Takeaway: When Isaiah prophesies that Hezekiah will die, he prays to God for healing and God heals. Hezekiah was looking for a merciful God, and God mercifully looked past his sins and blesses him with life. When Hezekiah wants to look good in the eyes of the Babylonians, God grants him that, too. The Babylonians are so attracted they will come and plunder Jerusalem and Hezekiah’s descendants. While this account should leave us discouraged by our own inability to follow God effectively, it also opens up our vision for a hope that is beyond us. How does the approval of others tempt us away from seeking God’s favor? How do our failures discourage us from trusting God’s mercy?