Articles
The Power On Your Side
The Power On Your Side
“Then it happened that night that the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead.” (2 Kings 19:35). 185,000!? The population of Altamonte Springs is 44,000! Longwood is 15,000, Lake Mary is 16,500, Apopka is 51,500, Oveido is 40,700. So far, that’s only 167,700! Orange City gives us another 11,700 and Heathrow 6,000 and now we’ve hit 185,000!
Imagine waking up one morning to find every person from Altamonte Springs, Longwood, Lake Mary, Apopka, Oveido, Orange City, and Heathrow dead! Now imagine every person from that 185,000 was a professionally trained soldier in the most dangerous military on the planet! What force could possibly destroy them, let alone in one night? A single angel of God. Consider some lessons:
1) Never mock God’s power. I apologize for the disturbing analogy; it’s hard to think about everyone around us dead. But the 185,000 God took out weren’t innocent civilians or even women or children. These were warriors in an army who thought they were more powerful than God. “Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their land from my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?” (2 Kings 19:35). They mocked His power, they mocked His name and people. So He snapped His fingers and 185,000 died. After that, they didn’t mock anymore; the remaining survivors scurried away like dogs with their tails between their legs. Modern man mocks God’s power all the time. When we say, “Evolution did all this!” we mock His power. When we say, “Science explains everything!” we mock His power. When we say, “I’m a self-made success!” we mock His power.
2) Never forget God’s power. Since God isn’t slaughtering 185,000 enemies in one night anymore, it’s easy to forget His power. Plus, the more sophisticated society gets, the more we lose our sense of smallness. Hollywood makes it hard to feel awe anymore. When we meditate on the magnitude of God’s miracles in Scripture, it reminds us of His power. There are other reminders around us too. One father said his young son has a bedtime routine that helps him remember to marvel. Every night, no matter the weather, they go outside to “say goodnight to the stars.” Before bed, they both look into the sky and are reminded how small they are, and how great God is.
3) Never forget God’s power is on your side! Is your problem a 185,000-soldiers-outside-your-door-trying-to-kill-you-problem? Probably not. But even if it is, so what? Look at the God we serve! “Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales; behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust.” (Isaiah 40:15). If God can send a single angel to handle 185,000, He can send angels to solve our problems too (Psalm 91:11-13)!
