Hezekiah: The Art of Thanksgiving

Nothing brings out gratefulness like a reprieve from imminent death.

When King Hezekiah of Judah, a good and godly king, heard from the prophet Isaiah that he was about to die, he immediately turned to the God he had faithfully served. He begged God for an extension of life—and the Lord granted him an additional 15 years. When Hezekiah learned that the Lord would lengthen his life, he did what any godly leader would do: He thanked and praised his God. Upon his recovery, he wrote to the Lord a poem of thanksgiving and praise for the good he had done.

As the godly king meditated on God’s goodness, he realized that the Lord had used even his sickness for his good. In verse 17 he wrote, “Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish”—the same sentiment expressed many years before by his revered ancestor, David: “It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees” (Ps 119:71).

Hezekiah’s hymn of gratitude not only thanked the Lord for sparing his life, it also expressed his commitment to “sing with stringed instruments all the days of our lives” (Isa 38:20). He realized that expressing gratitude to God ought to be more than a onetime event; it must be a lifestyle.

Taken from The NIV Maxwell Leadership Bible.