S21P23 – Portraits of faith: Hezekiah

2 Kings 18:5-6
Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses.

Faith is a funny thing. We never think we have enough, and we often notice others who we think are overflowing with it. But faith is just like every other spiritual discipline we are called to develop and practice; it is expected to continue to grow. So it is funny that we would look at our peers or our predecessors and think that we would be satisfied with achieving their great faith. If our perspective is correct, we would continually desire greater and greater faith.

Hezekiah was not the only king of Judah to follow God, but these faithful kings were in the minority. Bookended between a father and a son who both defied God, he still had a handful of at least partly godly kings to emulate. But Hezekiah was not interested in following God only part-time. As the scripture reads, he never ceased to follow God. His faith surpassed that of his predecessors because he held fast to God in the face of great temptation to follow various kinds of idols. It was his great faith that allowed Hezekiah to succeed in this office where others had failed time and again.

Although our walk of faith is not a competition to see who has more than the next guy, it should be our desire to have as much as our tiny vessels can hold. If we walk in leadership, it should be our desire to be the greatest leader possible. Those who are called to shepherd the flock should not desire to do a “good enough” job; they should desire to do the best job. Having that desire and carrying it out require abundant faith. Father, as we lead and teach others, grow in us the desire to seek greater and greater faith in You, knowing that this will make us more effective at fulfilling your will for our work.