Permissive or Perfect

October 17, 2020 – Debbie Graham

Isaiah 37-39; Psalm 76

Permissive or Perfect

Focus Verses
Isaiah 38:1 “In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’””
Isaiah 39:8 “So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “At least there will be peace and truth in my days.”

Just a few days ago we read in 2 Kings 18 that Hezekiah began his reign and “did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done.”  Chapter 38 begins with Hezekiah being told to set his house in order because his time was done.  He had served the Lord and it was time to set his house in order and go.  But Hezekiah didn’t want this news.

We read in 38:2-3, “Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, and said, ‘Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your sight.’ And Hezekiah wept bitterly.”  The Lord heard and added 15 years to his life.  Sometimes God allows things to happen at our pleading and it does not turn out well.  We saw this with Saul back in 1 Samuel.  We see the permissive will of God being displayed when He gave both the Israelites and Hezekiah what they wanted.  God will allow His permissive will to unfold, but we must be seeking His perfect will in everything!  Hezekiah was seeking the permissive will of the Lord.

I remember in 1990 asking God to allow things to work out for me upgrade from a no debt, 1978 Nova, to a 1990 Pontiac Sunbird.  He allowed it.  While the asking price for the car was not exorbitant, my interest rate was 17.95%!  The results of my desires were carried over to future decisions.  I got what I wanted… or did I?

How many times do we see situations around us and seek the permissive will of God?  Seeking and demanding our own ways might get us what we want, but we might not want what we get.  We are to pray and seek God, but we must always pray as Jesus did, “nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done (Luke 22:42b).” 

Hezekiah got an extension on his life, but we read in chapter 39 that he didn’t give credit to God for his salvation but was proud of his spoil and showed off all the presents that he had been given when the Lord had healed him (vs.2).  His extension affected future generations negatively.  If Hezekiah had accepted the Lord telling him to put his house in order and that he would not live, Manasseh, the worst king that had ever ruled Judah would not have been born.  

Hezekiah only cared about himself.  Because of his pride and selfishness, he was told of all that would be removed from his house including his offspring, and he responded with: “At least there will be peace and truth in my days.”  All of his possessions, and some of his sons would be taken by the Babylonians by force, but he didn’t care.  It was all good for himself. He was given 15 more years, and in the end, had nothing to show for it.  

Let’s think about others.  We must die to self for the benefit of someone else.  A few verses from the Bible tell us how to do this.  In Matthew 16:24-25, “… ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”  Luke says in 17:33, “Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.”  Finally, we read in 1 Peter 5:6, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.”  We must be careful not to promote ourselves but to humble ourselves.

Prayer
Lord, help me not live my life only thinking about selfish gain.  Help me to submit to Your plan and to seek and do Your will.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.