Isaiah 38:17  “Yes, this anguish was good for me, for you have rescued me from death and forgiven all my sins.”(NLT)

—

Hezekiah’s prayer in Isaiah 38:9-20 is a masterpiece of humble dependence on God. It is honest, heartfelt, and transparent. Hezekiah tells it like it was as he faced the end of his days. Then he tells it like it will be as he leans into God’s grace and mercy for his future years of life. 

His takeaway from his experience is found in verse 17. 

“Yes, this anguish was good for me, for you have rescued me from death and forgiven all my sins.”

His anguish, he says, was good for him. 

There is such a thing as godly sorrow. It is grief due to circumstances we did not create. It is pain beyond our ability to heal or restore. It is loss we can only place in God’s merciful hands. We trust at such times that he will lead us forward through the valley of the shadow of death or, ultimately, on home to the land that is fairer than day. 

Viewed from a heavenly perspective, this is what is known as a win-win situation. It’s what the Apostle Paul talked about when he despaired of death and also despaired of not dying. Either way, he won, or better yet, God won, as he always does. (See Philippians 1:20-26.)

Pause to peruse Hezekiah’s prayer. How does it help you pray today? How will it help you pray in days to come? God placed it here for us to learn from and apply to our own lives. These are not magic words. Instead, they are words of trust in God no matter what we face and no matter the outcome. This is a prayer that transcends life and death.

—

I will learn to pray bigger than ever in simple trust in God, no matter the outcome. 

—

Our Father, thank you for giving us model prayers that teach us how to pray. Thank you for teaching us how to respond to all that life throws at us. Thank you for teaching us how to respond with godly sorrow and bright hope for tomorrow. Thank you that the enemy that is death is also the passageway into your eternal presence where nothing will ever again harm us and every tear is wiped away. Amen.