God Is Our Source Of Comfort

GOD IS OUR SOURCE OF COMFORT

Isaiah 39:1-8, "At that time Merodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he had heard that he had been sick, and was recovered. And Hezekiah was glad of them, and shewed them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not. Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon. Then said he, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them. Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days."

In this chapter of Isaiah Israel is left without hope. God had determined that their debt of sin must be paid in full and so He had decided to send King Baladan and the Babylonian army upon them to take them away as slaves and to destroy their cities, towns and farms. All of this had been triggered by a foolish act of King Hezekiah.

Hezekiah had fallen ill and the word of his sickness and recovery had spread through the surrounding nations. Baladan had sent his son Merodach-baladan as an emissary to Israel to bring King Hezekiah letters and gifts in an effort to make Israel his ally against one of his most powerful enemies, the Assyrians.

King Hezekiah was so enamored with these visitors from Babylon that he decided not only to be their ally and friend, but he decided that he wanted to brag about the wealth of his kingdom. He showed his guests from Babylon all of his treasures, opened every door and showed them every hiding place where they were kept, and revealed to them everything that they wanted to see.

Trust is a wonderful thing, provided that trust is placed in the right thing, the right man, and most of all, provided that your ultimate trust is in God. It doesn’t take long, living in this world of sinful people to find out that there are some people who cannot be trusted. Sadly we find the problem even among those who are supposed to be a part of God’s family of saved, sanctified, blood-washed and born again Christians.

Jesus warned us of being careless with those things that are valuable to us in Matthew 7:6 when he said, "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you."

When you, as a Christian, swing wide the doors of your heart and open the windows of your mind, to allow anything that the enemy sends your way to enter in and see what is in you, you are opening the path to your own destruction. We must ever be aware that Satan is seeking for ways to destroy our souls and we should never give him place to discover ways that he can destroy us.

I don’t know about you but I have a hard enough time overcoming the devil and his temptations without giving him more ammunition and an open door to come into my life and steal my victory.

HOW CAN YOU OPEN THAT DOOR OF YOUR HEART? Just by simply allowing the things of this world to take the place of God in your life.

-Walk into the door of a dance hall or night club, and you are opening the door to your heart at the same time.

-Open your mouth to be a gluttonous person or to receive what the world likes to refer to as “adult beverages”, wine, beer, and any other drink that will cause you to become senseless or out of control of your own body and mind, and you have opened the door to the treasures of your soul.