After Faithfulness

Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 30-32; Acts 18; Psalm 20

After these things and these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them for himself. – 2 Chronicles 32:1

Hezekiah was one of the good guys. He tried to do the right thing. He was faithful — as a leader, and as a man. That’s what the “things” in this verse are talking about — the good, faithful choices he made.

And yet, it was after those things that trouble showed up on his doorstep, in the form of Sennacherib, the king of Assyria.

We like to believe that if we’re faithful, if we do the right thing, we’ll be exempt from trouble. After all, the only people who get kicked in the face are the ones going around asking for it, right?

If life worked that way, it’d be grand. But it doesn’t. It never has. Just read the Bible — it’s basically one long history of suffering saints.

Now, I’m not going to try to unpack all the theological reasons for that in a short devotional. There are books — thick ones — that wrestle with that mystery, and for good reason. If it takes them hundreds of pages, I’m probably not going to crack the code in 300 words or less.

What I will say is this: stuff like this happens. Sometimes trouble shows up right after we hang the “No Soliciting” sign on our door. Sometimes Sennacherib comes knocking right after our acts of faithfulness.

Don’t be shocked by it. Don’t let your faith evaporate like morning dew under the rising sun. This is how it’s always been in this world. And it’ll stay that way — until the day everything is made new.

That day is coming. A day when justice will prevail, every tear will be wiped away, and joy will reign. Sin, death, and suffering? Gone.

That day isn’t today. But it’s coming.