A Christmas Miracle
In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.’”
Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying, “Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
And it happened, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. And I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake, and for the sake of My servant David.”’” – 2 Kings 20:1-6 NKJV.
With all of the bad news we are saturated with every day it is a miracle whenever we hear some really good news. 11-year-old Roxli Doss has received some really great news! Her inoperable brain tumor is gone, God has once again done the impossible! The parents of Roxli were praying for a miracle and God gave them a miracle!
One thing that is also miraculous is that the parents of Roxli actually had the faith to pray, and to believe, that God could heal their little girl. This kind of faith is becoming more and more rare. As in, the doctor said you are going to die, so you are going to die – no need to pray. Sometimes that is true and sometimes, it isn’t.
Hezekiah received the bad news that he was terminal directly from the prophet Isaiah and Isaiah had heard the bad news directly from God. However, even though there had been a pronouncement of death from Heaven above it was not the end of the story. Because, Hezekiah had the faith to pray, and God gave him 15 more years of life on Earth.
Why does God give healing to one, and not to another? Many godly parents and individuals have prayed for healing for a child or for themselves or others and there has been no Christmas miracle. As Deuteronomy 29:29a says “The secret things belong to the Lord our God….” Moses told the Hebrews that not all that lay ahead in the future could be revealed at that time. If God had told me what was ahead in my life when I was just a teenager, I would not have been ready to know those things. This side of Heaven we are not ready to know all of the “secret things” of the Lord our God. As we are told in Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.”
In the midst of whatever heartache and tragedy that may come our way we can be thankful for the very first Christmas miracle. The miracle of the birth of our Lord and Savior through Whom we may be forgiven of our sins and have the gift of eternal life. It took love beyond our understanding for Jesus to leave the glories of Heaven, so He could be born as a baby, grow to adulthood and suffer an excruciating death on a Roman cross for our sins. Love beyond degree. No matter what may be happening in your life or in the lives of those you love, remember this: God Loves You!