How to Respond to a Negative Report—Two2Grow, Thursday, September 17
How to Respond to a Negative Report—Two2Grow, Thursday, September 17
“Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.” 2 Kings 19:14 NIV
Have you ever received a letter, email, SMS, or social media post that felt like a gut punch? Perhaps from a doctor, a bank, a close friend, or a job. What do you do with a negative message that has the power to reshape the rest of your life?
That’s the kind of letter King Hezekiah received. It was basically a death threat to him and the nation of Judah. Unless they surrendered to the king of Assyria, they would be attacked, and the odds were overwhelming in favor of the attackers. Assyria was the most powerful nation in the region, while Judah was very insignificant in strength.
What did the king do? Before he responded, he “spread it out before the Lord.” That is what you and I need to do too.
Take your text, letter, email, or whatever it is and spread it before the Lord. Don’t act out of fear or anger. Don’t repost or call your friends right away. Give it over to God and let Him show you how to respond. Sometimes you have to hand it over for a while before the Lord will show you what to do. That’s okay.
At one time, I got an email that changed everything. I had the promise of a great job opportunity. We had prepared as a family to move and done everything to inform the church, family, and friends about it. But then, shortly before the move, out of nowhere, I got the message that my position was no longer available. It was devastating news. We lost hope. But we did exactly what Hezekiah did: we took the email and spread it before the Lord. After several days, the Lord gave us the direction, and it turned out to be so much better than we first expected.
Father, I give this over to You [add the message you’ve received]. Show me how to respond and how to act. Amen.
Pastor Mikael Stenhammar, PhD
Have you ever received a letter, email, SMS, or social media post that felt like a gut punch? Perhaps from a doctor, a bank, a close friend, or a job. What do you do with a negative message that has the power to reshape the rest of your life?
That’s the kind of letter King Hezekiah received. It was basically a death threat to him and the nation of Judah. Unless they surrendered to the king of Assyria, they would be attacked, and the odds were overwhelming in favor of the attackers. Assyria was the most powerful nation in the region, while Judah was very insignificant in strength.
What did the king do? Before he responded, he “spread it out before the Lord.” That is what you and I need to do too.
Take your text, letter, email, or whatever it is and spread it before the Lord. Don’t act out of fear or anger. Don’t repost or call your friends right away. Give it over to God and let Him show you how to respond. Sometimes you have to hand it over for a while before the Lord will show you what to do. That’s okay.
At one time, I got an email that changed everything. I had the promise of a great job opportunity. We had prepared as a family to move and done everything to inform the church, family, and friends about it. But then, shortly before the move, out of nowhere, I got the message that my position was no longer available. It was devastating news. We lost hope. But we did exactly what Hezekiah did: we took the email and spread it before the Lord. After several days, the Lord gave us the direction, and it turned out to be so much better than we first expected.
Father, I give this over to You [add the message you’ve received]. Show me how to respond and how to act. Amen.
Pastor Mikael Stenhammar, PhD