2/11 Psalm 88:8-18
You have caused my friends to loathe me; you have sent them all away. I am in a trap with no way of escape. 9 My eyes are blinded by my tears. Each day I beg for your help, O LORD; I lift my pleading hands to you for mercy. 10 Of what use to the dead are your miracles? Do the dead get up and praise you? Interlude 11 Can those in the grave declare your unfailing love? In the place of destruction, can they proclaim your faithfulness? 12 Can the darkness speak of your miracles? Can anyone in the land of forgetfulness talk about your righteousness? 13 O LORD, I cry out to you. I will keep on pleading day by day. 14 O LORD, why do you reject me? Why do you turn your face away from me? 15 I have been sickly and close to death since my youth. I stand helpless and desperate before your terrors. 16 Your fierce anger has overwhelmed me. Your terrors have cut me off. 17 They swirl around me like floodwaters all day long. They have encircled me completely. 18 You have taken away my companions and loved ones; only darkness remains.
HARD
It is hard to reconcile the way we see life with the Lord’s vies. I don’t understand how He works. Our plight in life seems to be chaotic but the Lord is good and He sees all things. My faith Lord will not be based on my situation. Help me Lord to live my life based on YOU. Grow my faith. Teach me to follow YOU by faith and not by sight.
2/10 Psalm 88:3-7
For my life is full of troubles, and death draws near. 4 I have been dismissed as one who is dead, like a strong man with no strength left. 5 They have abandoned me to death, and I am as good as dead. I am forgotten, cut off from your care. 6 You have thrust me down to the lowest pit, into the darkest depths. 7 Your anger lies heavy on me; wave after wave engulfs me.
SIGHT
It is hard to see the future. We experience difficulty and immediately think that everyday will be like today. Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and your future will be sure. You will never be outside of His scrutiny and care.
2/9 Psalm 88:1-2
For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah, to be sung to the tune “The Suffering of Affliction.” A psalm of Heman the Ezrahite. A song. O LORD, God of my salvation, I have cried out to you day and night. 2 Now hear my prayer; listen to my cry.
PLEAD
Sometimes life hurts so much that we literally plead our case with the Lord. Do not fear expressing your heart before the Lord. Cry out to Him. He will listen. Jesus loves you.
2/8 Isaiah 39:3
Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did those men want? Where were they from?” Hezekiah replied, “They came from the distant land of Babylon.” 4 “What did they see in your palace?” asked Isaiah. “They saw everything,” Hezekiah replied. “I showed them everything I own — all my treasures.” 5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to this message from the LORD Almighty: 6 The time is coming when everything you have — all the treasures stored up by your ancestors — will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD. 7 Some of your own descendants will be taken away into exile. They will become eunuchs who will serve in the palace of Babylon’s king.” 8 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “This message you have given me from the LORD is good.” But the king was thinking, “At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime.”
RESPONSIBILITY
We have a responsibility to those with us and those who follow us. We are to live a life controlled by Jesus. Focus because you life is over in a flash. Learn because you generally will not get a second chance. Be the kind of person the Lord can use and He will use you. Jesus is Lord.
2/7 Isaiah 39:1-2
Soon after this, Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent Hezekiah his best wishes and a gift. He had heard that Hezekiah had been very sick and that he had recovered. 2 Hezekiah welcomed the Babylonian envoys and showed them everything in his treasure-houses — the silver, the gold, the spices, and the aromatic oils. He also took them to see his armory and showed them all his other treasures — everything! There was nothing in his palace or kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.
WHAT?
Common sense would dictate that Hezekiah would be careful in dealing with the Babylonians. The Babylonians’ first hand knowledge of Hezekiah’s treasures would be grounds for raiding and destroying Judah. Something happened to Hezekiah. He took a miracle as something He had earned and let His humility disappear.
2/6 Isaiah 38:20-22
Think of it — the LORD has healed me! I will sing his praises with instruments every day of my life in the Temple of the LORD. 21 Isaiah had said to Hezekiah’s servants, “Make an ointment from figs and spread it over the boil, and Hezekiah will recover.” 22 And Hezekiah had asked, “What sign will prove that I will go to the Temple of the LORD three days from now?”
HEALING
When we listen to the Lord we discover what He is doing in our life. It is amazing the “miracles” that happen in our life that we do not recognize as a miracle. Let us praise the Lord for His hand of love and watch-care. The Lord is good to us.
2/5 Isaiah 38:17-19
Yes, it was good for me to suffer this anguish, for you have rescued me from death and have forgiven all my sins. 18 For the dead cannot praise you; they cannot raise their voices in praise. Those who go down to destruction can no longer hope in your faithfulness. 19 Only the living can praise you as I do today. Each generation can make known your faithfulness to the next.
FAITHFUL
Lord YOU are faithful to me. All that You do to lead, guide and direct my path is appreciated and I praise Your Holy Name: JESUS. Praise the Lord, let everything that has breath praise His Holy Name.
2/4 Isaiah 38:15-16
But what could I say? For he himself had sent this sickness. Now I will walk humbly throughout my years because of this anguish I have felt. 16 Lord, your discipline is good, for it leads to life and health. You have restored my health and have allowed me to live!
WALK
Lord my walk on this earth is short. My life blazes and recedes before I know it. Help me Lord to measure my time. I bend my knee to your discipline. Help me to learn quickly. Life is what YOU make it. Help me to seize Your work and work humbly under Your guidance.
2/3 Isaiah 38:9-14
When King Hezekiah was well again, he wrote this poem about his experience: 10 I said, “In the prime of my life, must I now enter the place of the dead? Am I to be robbed of my normal years?” 11 I said, “Never again will I see the LORD GOD while still in the land of the living. Never again will I see my friends or laugh with those who live in this world. 12 My life has been blown away like a shepherd’s tent in a storm. It has been cut short, as when a weaver cuts cloth from a loom. Suddenly, my life was over. 13 I waited patiently all night, but I was torn apart as though by lions. Suddenly, my life was over. 14 Delirious, I chattered like a swallow or a crane, and then I moaned like a mourning dove. My eyes grew tired of looking to heaven for help. I am in trouble, Lord. Help me!”
HELP
Four letters that we seldom say until it is too late. Don’t let you life rock out of relationship with the Lord. Don’t get so far away that everything is destroyed before you yell for HELP. Help me Lord. Help me to pray. Help me to listen. Help me to spend time with you. Help me grow my faith. Help me Lord.
2/2 Isaiah 38:4
Then this message came to Isaiah from the LORD: 5 “Go back to Hezekiah and tell him, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will add fifteen years to your life, 6 and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. Yes, I will defend this city. 7 “‘And this is the sign that the LORD will give you to prove he will do as he promised: 8 I will cause the sun’s shadow to move ten steps backward on the sundial of Ahaz!'” So the shadow on the sundial moved backward ten steps.
JESUS
Jesus will not mislead you. The Lord spoke to Isaiah and Isaiah carried the Lord’s message to Hezekiah. Hezekiah heard and believed. Listen to the Lord. Listen to what He says to you. Hear and believe and you will walk with the Lord.