The NIV 365 Day Devotional

Hezekiah: The Art of Thanksgiving

9 A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery:

10 I said, “In the prime of my life
  must I go through the gates of death
  and be robbed of the rest of my years?”
11 I said, “I will not again see the Lord himself
  in the land of the living;
no longer will I look on my fellow man,
  or be with those who now dwell in this world.
12 Like a shepherd’s tent my house
  has been pulled down and taken from me.
Like a weaver I have rolled up my life,
  and he has cut me off from the loom;
  day and night you made an end of me.
13 I waited patiently till dawn,
  but like a lion he broke all my bones;
  day and night you made an end of me.
14 I cried like a swift or thrush,
  I moaned like a mourning dove.
My eyes grew weak as I looked to the heavens.
  I am being threatened; Lord, come to my aid!”

15 But what can I say?
  He has spoken to me, and he himself has done this.
I will walk humbly all my years
  because of this anguish of my soul.
16 Lord, by such things people live;
  and my spirit finds life in them too.
You restored me to health
  and let me live.
17 Surely it was for my benefit
  that I suffered such anguish.
In your love you kept me
  from the pit of destruction;
you have put all my sins
  behind your back.
18 For the grave cannot praise you,
  death cannot sing your praise;
those who go down to the pit
  cannot hope for your faithfulness.
19 The living, the living—they praise you,
  as I am doing today;
parents tell their children
  about your faithfulness.

20 The Lord will save me,
  and we will sing with stringed instruments
all the days of our lives
  in the temple of the Lord.

Isaiah 38:9-20

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.