Hezekiah the Rightous King

Hezekiah

Hezekiah was a king of ancient Judah.  He was a righteous king . . . even though his father and grandfather had been wicked.  He restored the Temple and turned the people away from worshiping idols.  He was a follower of Jehovah.   I the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints we believe that Jehovah is Jesus Christ. 

Hezekiah did many wonderful things but this story from the Bible, 2nd Kings chapter 20....is my favorite Hezekiah story.   He was sick.  Apparently with an infection in his leg.   He was visited by the Prophet Isaiah and told that his sickness is unto death and to basically set his affairs in order.   Hezekiah wept and prayed from his bed and reminded the Lord that he had been good etc.  So the Lord sent Isaiah back in to tell him what to do to cure the infection and Hezekiah got like 20 more years.  

I was told by my surgeon in Boston, Massachussetts that I was not going to make it... after a failed surgery on my trachea.   But after he left my hospital room I felt a voice in my mind.   It said basically,  

              "Its OK to go, but if you want to stay I will help you, but it won't be easy."  

I still had a 13 year old boy that I felt needed me so I chose to stay.   I think my young adult daughters needed me too and I certainly did not want to leave my wife,  but I did think of my youngest child.   I had a hole in my trachea opening up to inside my chest cavity.  I SHOULD have died.    But that was 12 years ago and I am still here.  Somehow the Lord had cells grow into the mesh that had migrated and killed that part of my trachea.  So I sill live with a tracheal stent.  But I live and am not dead.   

I like to share this story because it is true and to me it is evidence that the Lord does intervene sometimes and help us out when we are in crisis in this mortal journey we are all on.   He intervened for Hezekiah and he intervened for me as well.   The scriptures make it clear that if you are trying to live  right the Lord is more willing to help you.   But he hears all pleas for help and I think repentance goes a long way towards softening the Lord's heart and getting His help for your trial. 

Now, do I LIKE having a tracheal stent?  NOT!   But I like being alive.   Sometimes the Lord helps us be able to handle our trials in life instead of removing the trial   The way I figure it, when things  go wrong and we have trials or challenges in mortality,  we can turn to God and gain strength and sometimes we pass the test and the trial comes to an end.  Sometimes we get His help to be able to handle the trial.   BUT the trials well come to you sooner or later, so why not turn TO God rather than get mad at Him and turn away from Him.  The trials WILL come so you might as well have God's help to handle them and deal with them. 

NOTE:  The printable version of Hezekiah drawing is found by clicking on the "Religion" or "All Printables" button up top.  Scroll down for new drawings like this one.   Hezekiah drawing is under Old Testament part of the Religion drawings.