Remembering whose we are

So Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son…” (2 Kings 16:7)

If you want some background to this story, read Isaiah 7.

It was in the midst of Ahaz’s problems with Aram and Israel that Isaiah made his famous Immanuel prophesy.

The sad thing is that in Isaiah 7, God was telling Ahaz, “Trust me. Your enemies won’t succeed. I’ll even give you a sign so that you can believe me. Just ask for one.”

But Ahaz refused to trust God, declining to ask for a sign. Instead, he sought Assyria’s help.

He got it, but it came at a great price. Eventually, Ahaz’s “master” and “father” turned against Israel and became its enemy.

How much different would things have been if Ahaz had turned to God, saying, “I am your servant and your son”?

I’m facing my own issues right now, and I just felt God reminding me, “Remember whose you are. You are my servant. More importantly, you are my beloved child. Seek me. Trust me.”

He then brought this psalm to mind.

God is our refuge and strength,
a helper who is always found
in times of trouble.

Therefore we will not be afraid,
though the earth trembles
and the mountains topple
into the depths of the seas,
though its water roars and foams
and the mountains quake with its turmoil…

“Stop fighting, and know that I am God,
exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”

The Lord of Armies is with us (Immanuel!);
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.” (Psalm 46:1-3, 10-11)