Day 245: Right Now

John 18:38-19:16; 2 Chronicles 29; Psalm 85

In the sad story of Jesus' trial, Pilate makes the comment that he has the power to free him or nail him to the cross. Jesus reminds him that he only has that power because God gave him that power. A lot of times we give ourselves credit for successes or talents or strengths that we have. We think that we have created our victories or cultivated our talents. It is true that if we want to be better at something, we often have to practice. But it is God who gave us everything necessary to be successful or enhance our skills.

Throughout this chapter on Hezekiah, there is a undercurrent of urgency. Hezekiah begins "in the first month of the first year" his plans to have the temple purified and repaired. It takes the priests 2 weeks to do this. Then later it says "Right away, Hezekiah called together the officials of Jerusalem and they went to the temple." And finally, they "celebrated, because God had helped them make this happen so quickly." Hezekiah wanted and needed to clean up the mess that the previous kings had made of the temple and of worship. He could have waited until he had established himself as a leader, or the people were ready, or some other excuse--but he didn't. The time to make things right was now. When should we make things right with God? Not when we've got our career together, when we are married and have a family, when we've solved that problem, or our health is better. Whatever our circumstances, now is the time to get right with God.

This psalm is a beautiful expression of what could have been Hezekiah's heart:
"I will listen to you Lord God because you promise peace to those who are faithful and no longer foolish. You are ready to rescue everyone who worships you, so that you will live with us in all your glory. Love and loyalty will come together; goodness and peace will unite. Loyalty will sprout from the ground; justice will look down from the sky above."