Isaiah 38:15-17 – Living fully for God in the meanwhile

In the middle of his solemn poem, Hezekiah changed his tone in verse 15. He paused to ask a rhetorical question – what shall I say? This was his sobering and contemplative moment. It is like asking oneself, “How should I respond to this wonderful overture of God’s love?” Would to God that all of us will take time to contemplate His goodness and gratuitously reciprocate His gesture of love towards us. Remember in Hezekiah’s case, in one shocking moment he was told he would die, and then shortly in another, he was told he would not, and that 15 more years would be added to his life. What more could he expect when God had so graciously kept His Word and spared his life? How would anyone of us have responded if we were in Hezekiah’s shoes?

Verses 15-17 described Hezekiah’s positive responses to God’s overtures of love that had impacted his life. Recognizing God’s hand in his experience, he firstly vouched to remain quiet and humble before Him for the remaining years of his life. Secondly, he acknowledged that it was only because of God’s intervention that he had a new lease on life. He recognized that  only God’s word and actions have the power to sustain life. Thirdly, he chose to fully rely on God, so he prayed to ask for full restoration of his health and life. Fourthly, he appreciated the grace of God in the preservation of his life. He remembered that it was God who had kept “his soul from the pit of nothingness.” And finally, he conceded that in prolonging his life, God had “hurled” his sin “behind His back”, and God had forgiven him and remembered his sin no more.

It is understandable that Hezekiah should pause to sombrely consider what he should do with his redeemed life. He was literally snatched from the hand of death and given 15 more years to live. For one who had gone through such a traumatizing experience, it would not be wrong to say that he would henceforth not take life lightly. On the contrary, he would take life seriously and live it more purposefully. But honestly speaking, none of us should need such an experience to decide to live life purposefully. For Paul has reminded us in Ephesians 2 that we too were once dead in our trespasses and sins, but “God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our wrongdoings make us alive together with Christ.” Would we also like Hezekiah now pause to consider life? How ought we to live in the light of God’s mercy? We need to take heed to Paul’s words recorded in Romans 12:1-2. Let us give our lives to God as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him. And with a renewed mind be determined to live in the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. This is the only way to live! Since we have already trusted Him with our eternal life, we should now also trust Him in our daily living.