“For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth." ◄ Isaiah 38:18-20 (KJV)
Congratulations and welcome to the last full week of the year 2024. This year, we've experienced the highs of new beginnings, fresh opportunities, and answered prayers. We also navigated the lows of setbacks, disappointments, and uncertainty. In 2 Kings 20, Hezekiah, king of Judah was faced with a seemingly impossible situation but his praise opened the door for God to intervene and change his circumstances.
In that Bible account, a deadly illness was ravaging King Hezekiah's body, and the prophet Isaiah's words sealed his fate: "Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live". The Bible records that Hezekiah refused to accept defeat. With his last ounce of strength, he turned his face to the wall and cried out to God. Then, he did something remarkable - he began to praise.
As he praised God for His mercy, healing power, and presence in the midst of trouble, something miraculous happened. God sent a second message through Isaiah, reversing the original death sentence: "I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life" (2 Kings 20:5-6).
Today, as you reflect on the expectations you may have had for the year 2024, the dreams you pursued, and the promises you claimed; some of which didn't quite turn out as you had hoped, are you feeling disappointed, disillusioned, or desperate, wondering if God has forgotten about you, or will you praise Him inspite of the unfulfilled dreams and disappointments?
By choosing to praise, we can find calm in the chaos so as I sign off this week, my prayer is that we all will henceforth incorporate praise into our daily lives. I have it on good authority that when we do, we will become storm-calming, darkness-defying, and impossibility-overcoming children of God.
Congratulations!
Ade Adekunle
State Pastor
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