Hezekiah, King of Israel, received a threatening letter from a much more powerful king – the King of Assyria. The Assyrian ruler demanded unconditional surrender, and told Hezekiah not to trust in God. The letter was pretty graphic (take a look at 2 Kings 18:27). If we’d received a letter like that, we’d probably have a few reactions. We might become fearful and give in, we might be frustrated and retaliate, we might gather all our trusted friends around us and talk about it without acting. But Hezekiah took it to God. He went to the temple ‘and spread it out before the LORD’. Then he prayed: ‘God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see’ (Isaiah 37:16-17 NIV). Hezekiah was basically saying, ‘Lord, please would You read this, then do something about it.’ And God did. ‘Then the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning – there were all the dead bodies!’ (Isaiah 37:36 NIV). We probably all have things that we need to take to God. It might be a relationship problem, a medical diagnosis, or even an angry email from someone at work. If it causes us to be stressed, it’s something that needs to be spread out before God through prayer. If it’s important to us, it’s important to Him. Whatever is stressing us out right now, let’s give it to God, trust Him, and watch how He works things out for us.

What Now?

What’s causing you to feel stressed today? Take some time to completely lay it before God, and watch what He does.