What Do You Do First?
There are moments in life where it is not just the situation that unsettles us, but the way we respond to it in the beginning. I have noticed this in my own life. When something goes wrong, my first instinct is not always to go to God. I used to try and fix it by myself, I try to manage it. I try to contain it in a way that makes sense to me. If there is a practical solution, I lean towards it first, hoping that it will resolve the situation before it grows any bigger. I even ask others opinions or seek their ways to address the issue. And if I am honest, sometimes it feels like the right thing to do.
As I was reading 2 Kings 19, I realized that Hezekiah also went through something similar. Before this moment, when the king of Assyria first came against him, Hezekiah tried to handle it in his own way. He sent silver and gold from the house of the Lord and even from his own treasures, hoping that it would satisfy the enemy and make the problem go away. For a moment, it may have seemed like a solution.
But it did not solve anything. The pressure came back. And this time, it came with words.
The King of Assyria sent a message to him, but it is not just information. It is filled with intimidation, comparison, and subtle distortion. It questions not only his position but even the power of God. It reminds him of other nations that were defeated and suggests that his outcome will be no different. I could not help but notice how often this happens in our lives. The situation itself may be difficult, but what truly weighs us down are the voices that come with it. The interpretations, the fears, the assumptions about how things will end.
However, this time, Hezekiah responds differently. He takes the letter, goes into the house of the Lord, and spreads it before God.
That simple act stayed with me.
He did not try to fix it again or negotiate or gather more resources but takes what he has heard and places it before God. There is something very humbling about that because it shows a shift, a realization that what could not be handled by silver and gold must now be surrendered to God.
And I found myself thinking about my own life. How often do I try first, fail, and only then go to God? How often do I rely on what I can control before I release what I cannot?
Hezekiah’s prayer is simple. He does not argue or not defend himself but he simply acknowledges what has been said and who God is, and he places it before Him.
And something changes.
The situation itself has not yet shifted, but the weight of it has been moved.It is no longer carried by him alone. God responds, not by entering into the same argument, but by revealing that He has already seen, already heard, and already determined the outcome.
What looked certain from the enemy’s perspective suddenly changes. As I sat with this, I realized something that I often miss. We will always face situations, we will always hear voices but the question is not whether we can handle them but it is where we take them, because sometimes the issue is not the situation. It is the order in which we respond.
We try first. We exhaust ourselves. And then we surrender. But what if we reversed that? What if the first response was not to fix…but to place it before God?
As I reflect on this, I find myself asking a quieter question.
What are the things I am trying to manage on my own that I need to place before God?
Because maybe the turning point is not when the situation changes…but when our response does.
Every prayer, share, and act of support is deeply appreciated.
