And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook.

2 Kings 18:3-7



3 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. 4 He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.) 5 Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. 6 He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. 7 And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook.



"Successful in Whatever”



The history of mankind is generally not a happy one. The general pattern of human history has a brief and occasional success with a generally downward cycle with frequent conflicts, corruption, and failures. That’s why kingdoms and dynasties changed so often. The kingdom of Israel was no exception to this. Their history shows a downward spiral with a few exceptions. Kings were generally getting worse with a shorter period of reign as they pass down from one generations to the next. People were becoming more mindless of God. The trend of human history in the past clearly shows that we cannot expect a greater or better future without God. But people of God are not imprisoned in this trend of the world. They live as Romans 12:2 said. It says, “ Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” We see such an example in king Hezekiah. He became a king in a consistently declining dynasty. Even his father Ahaz was a very ungodly worshiping many idols. But Hezekiah was completely different from his father, probably from his mother’s influence who was not like his father. It’s interesting that the bible says “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord just as his father David had done.”. Notice the word “his father David”. Physically he was immediately related to Ahaz. But spiritually he was more closely related to David. As David was successful and prevailing in every battle he fought with God's help, Hezekiah was successful in whatever he undertook. What did Hezekiah do specifically? First, he removed all the idols including the bronze snake that Moses had made. Mark this very well. People can even make idols out of a great legacy of faith. Secondly, he trusted in the Lord and held fast to the Lord. In other words, he was with God all the time for whatever he did. Then he kept the words of God faithfully. As a result, the Lord was with him. And he was successful whatever he undertook. These are well-known secrets of success. But unfortunately, many are forgetful of these well-known secrets. I pray that you and your family break the pattern of the world and walk with God. That's the secret of successful in whatever. May God be with you all the time. Amen!