What would you do if you have more time than you do now? What would you do with that time? For King Hezekiah, it was fifteen more years to his life. 

By all accounts, King Hezekiah showed to be faithful, and trusted God. He “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done” (2 Kings 18:3), protected the worship of God, and was a great man of prayer. 

One of the prayers King Hezekiah did was documented in Chapter 20. King Hezakiah was so sick that he was at the point of death, and he boldly asked God for assurance that he would live to continue to give praise to God. God heard his prayer and added fifteen years to his life. 

However, King Hezekiah had his weaknesses. He fell prey to pride. When he received the Babylonian envoys, he showed off all his kingdom’s treasures. There was nothing in his house, or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. As Christopher Knapp says, “It was not spiritual pride, as with his great-grandfather Uzziah; but worldly pride – ‘the pride of life,’ we might say. It was his precious things, his armour, his treasures, his house, his dominion, etc., that he showed the ambassadors from Babylon.” He was even proud to tell Isaiah that there was nothing that he did not show them. 

It was this weakness that King Hezekiah received the ultimate judgment, that his descendants will go into exile. God was merciful to him, for sparing the judgement during his rule, yet King Hezekiah was only concerned for himself, showing relief that it would not happen in his lifetime. Is that truly appropriate for the extra 15 years of life?

King Hezekiah started well, and progressed well, but he did not finish well. Despite his defenses of the city, as well as his ability to secure a water supply, he allowed pride to overtake him. 

What if God gave you 15 more years of life today? What would you do with your life? Time comes and time goes, we do not have all the time in the world to do whatever we like. Therefore, would you use it to bring the gospel to the ends of the world? Would you use it to serve the Lord? What would you do to bring glory to God? What are the weaknesses in your life? It could be pride, it could be anger, it could be gluttony, insecurity, anxiety, etc. If we are aware of our weaknesses, would we be willing to work on them so that we may remain faithful to our Lord in the time that He has given to us?

Prayer: Dear Father, help me to work through my weaknesses so that I may trust you more and more each time, and that I may remain faithful to You. Help me to steward the time You have given to me well, so that glory be given to You. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.