YOUR TESTIMONY IS ALSO A MESSAGE

Apr 7
3 min read

One of the stories that upsets me the most in the Bible is the story of Hezekiah. We all read the beginning of this story, and we pray about it, we reference it a lot. But there’s more to that story than just healing and one day I’d love to get into it.

The story of Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:1-7)

“About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what the Lord says: Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.” When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, “Remember, O Lord, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you.” Then he broke down and wept bitterly. But before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, this message came to him from the Lord: “Go back to Hezekiah, the leader of my people. 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 heal you, and three days from now you will get out of bed and go to the Temple of the Lord. I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my own honor and for the sake of my servant David.’ Then Isaiah said, “Make an ointment from figs.” So Hezekiah’s servants spread the ointment over the boil, and Hezekiah recovered!”

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What a beautiful story, but our focus today is what happened next. The Bible says in 2 Kings‬ ‭20‬:‭12‬ ‭that “Soon after this, Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent Hezekiah his best wishes and a gift, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been very sick.” The Babylonian messengers arrived and Hezekiah showed them everything in the kingdom. From gold, to silver, to military equipment. While the passage or story is clearly about Hezekiah’s pride and the future Babylonian exile, I want to look at it from a different angle.

So the Babylonians worshipped many gods, many idols. They followed a different style of worship and so their understanding of God and His ways was different to them. So what if, yes, what if Hezekiah’s illness could have caused the Babylonians to come to know and follow God? Hear me out. The Bible said the king of Babylon “heard” that Hezekiah was sick. So what if Hezekiah, instead of showing the people around the kingdom, had sat them down and told them about the power that healed him? What if his testimony could have changed the Babylonians? In many instances, people have come to know of our God through the testimonies of others. What if Hezekiah could have become one of them? Revelations 12:11 says “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony…” What if your word of testimony is so people could come to God? God doesn’t give you testimonies for yourself. Your testimony could open doors for people to ask, “Who is this God? I need to know Him”. Yet, we receive testimonies and we keep them to ourselves. This was the perfect time for Hezekiah, but he neglected the testimony and focused on showing them his wealth! That healing, that uplifting, that promotion has a voice of their own! Allow them to tell a story! Their message carries more than we think. The Samaritan woman in John 4 encountered Jesus and run and told the people in her town “Come and see the man who told me everything I have ever done. Could He be the Messiah?”(John‬ ‭4‬:‭29‬ ‭GNT). She could have kept that experience to herself, but she allowed that moment, that experience to tell the story. That was her testimony and she shared it! What about the man whom Jesus delivered from demons in Mark 5. Jesus told him to “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” (Mark‬ ‭5‬:‭19‬ ‭NKJV‬‬). Let people know that God is there and He is still working! Your testimony is also a message.

Prayer: Father Lord, we bless Your name. Father, we thank You for all the testimonies You have given us. We pray that our testimonies will become a message to the world. May it also become another channel which brings more people to You. As we has entered this season too, may You give us more testimonies in Jesus name, Amen.