Look, I am your Father....arrogance is futile!

II Kings 19:34-36

“Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim and Hena and Ivah? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand? But the people held their peace and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was: ‘Do not answer him.’”

During the siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrians about 690 BC, they were annihilated by ‘the angel of the Lord…and killed…185,000. ‘ (19:35). Were it not for Hezekiah’s humility before the Lord after hearing the words spoken above by a servant of King Sennacherib (of the Assyrians), it may never have happened. This is why Paul tells us to pray unceasingly, for we never know what power our prayers may have unless we pray with faith on a regular basis. I don’t like to place prayers on the same level as lottery, but the more times you roll in the Lord’s court the more likely we are to hit the jackpot!

What I like about these verses is that it shows me who futile arrogance is. When we boast in our successes like we are so high and mighty, it may just be because we haven’t seen the meaning of true resistance. Of course the gods of Hamath and Hena haven’t done anything; they don’t exist! So why should we boast in our accomplishments when God is on our side letting them come into fruition? If we lived in a world where God did not exist, nothing, even in His common grace, would be any longer, like life itself.