God’s Will Is Always Best
I have been reading through the Bible in chronological order this year. I recently read through the story of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and his son Manasseh. Their story spreads across multiple passages of Scripture which I have read many times. However, something was said in one of the commentaries I read that has been causing me to keep going back to their story. It has really made me rethink how I looked at their story.
2 Kings 18 tells us that Hezekiah was a good king who did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Verses five and six of chapter 18 say, “He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. For he clung to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments. Which the LORD had commanded Moses.” God was with Hezekiah and helped him to be prosperous.
Isaiah 38 tells us that King Hezekiah becomes extremely ill, and God sends Isaiah the prophet to speak to him. He tells him to get his house in order because he is going to die. Hezekiah begins to weep and pray, asking God to remember all he has done and spare his life. God sends Isaiah with another message saying that He has seen his tears and heard his prayers and will add fifteen years to his life. Hezekiah does go on to live for fifteen more years.
Was This A Good Thing?
Here’s where things get interesting, my friend. It was during these additional fifteen years that Hezekiah has a son named Manasseh. Manasseh is twelve years old when his father dies, and he becomes king. Manasseh could not have been more different than his father. His father may have followed God, but Manasseh did not. He “did evil in the sight of the LORD” (2 Kings 21:2). He even sacrificed his own son to a pagan god(demon).
The Bible tells us that he seduced the people to do more evil than the nations God had judged and driven from the land before giving it to Israel. The Bible also tells us that he filled Jerusalem “from one end to the other” with “very much innocent blood” that he had shed. Tradition even says that it was during this time that the prophet Isaiah was martyred. Manasseh is described in several of the Bible verses about him using the phrase “more evil”.
Manasseh was an evil king who went to great lengths to provoke God to wrath. He did much to bring the wrath of God upon his nation. He led so many people deeper into idolatry and wickedness. I have read these things before and thought about how sad this was. However, it wasn’t until this past week that something I read really stopped me in my tracks. It pointed out that if Hezekiah had surrendered to God’s plan, this could have been avoided.
What If?
If Hezekiah had accepted God’s plan when Isaiah came to him, Manasseh would never have been born. They went on to emphasize how God’s plans are always better than ours, even if they seem painful at the time. I confess, I sat for a while contemplating what I had just read. Hezekiah was a godly man, and I think he would have grieved over the evil brought about by his son. He would have grieved over how far into evil his son led the nation of Judah.
Hezekiah, like most of us, just wasn’t ready to die at that point. He had no idea what the outcome would be as a result of his life being extended fifteen more years. The sad truth is that Judah would have been better off had Hezekiah died when Isaiah came to tell him to get his house in order. Manasseh would never have been born; therefore, he would not have led them into the depths of depravity and evil that he led the nation into.
If Hezekiah had accepted God’s will, things would have been better for Judah. An entire nation was affected by the outcome of Hezekiah pleading with God to change His plans. The more I thought about it, I had to agree with the commentator. It is better to accept God’s will. His plans are better than ours, even when we don’t understand them. Even when it doesn’t look like it, He knows what is best. Even when it doesn’t feel like it, His plans are best.
I confess, this has really convicted me. I don’t always like some of the things that are happening. I’m not always sure I like what seems to be God’s plans. They don’t always feel good. Many times, I want Him to change things. But here’s what I keep going back to. What if what’s best isn’t for Him to do what I want Him to do? What if what’s best doesn’t look the way I want it to right now? What if the very thing I think is something to be avoided is the very thing that’s needed?
I KNOW that God’s plans are better. Truly, I do. But what if they don’t feel like they are better? Oh my. This is a hard truth to land on. This is the thing that I have been wrestling with since I read this story again this week. The truth is that my feelings need to get out of the way and let His Holy Spirit guide me. My feelings cannot be trusted. They can’t see what He sees. They don’t know what He knows. No matter what my feelings say, God’s will is best.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” Proverbs 3:5. My understanding is so limited. He sees all things and knows all things. He can be trusted. His plans can be trusted. Even when I can’t understand, I can choose to trust Him. I can remind myself that His will is always best, even when it doesn’t feel like it at the time. I have lived long enough to know that He is good, and He can be trusted.
Hezekiah’s story is a pretty extreme example, but it is also a very vivid warning. God’s plan is always better than ours. It is best to trust His will and His plans. We have no idea how far reaching the consequences may be should we get what we want rather than what God had planned. Dear heart, it is best to just trust God and let Him bring His plans to pass. He has His reasons and while we may not understand, we can trust His love for us that always guides Him.
See also: Ephesians 5:17; Proverbs 16:9; Jeremiah 29:11
Katrina Douglas
