II Kings18:5 He trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him.

I was thinking about the beginning of football season. It seemed that the high school coaches always came up with a motto for the year. Often it was ‘all in’ or some version of that. They were hoping to inspire real commitment to the team and thereby have a winning season.

Read through the books of I and II Kings and you will notice a pattern. Each successive king is named and then (for the ‘good’ ones), assessed in some version of ‘they did right in the eyes of God.’ However, look closely and you will see a small addendum. “Except.” “They did right in the eyes of God except they did not tear down the high places.” But not Hezekiah. He was ‘all in.’ He followed the Lord in obedience. He embraced his role as a spiritual leader as well as a political one. His obedience, his following the commandments, was described as trust. “He trusted in the Lord God of Israel.” His trust made him the standard of comparison - after him there was none like him, nor before!

Do I trust in the Lord God? Do I trust in the Hezekiah way? Complete obedience? Or am I trying to dictate terms to God? “I will obey here, here, and here, but not there.” Surely God will be happy with most of my life!

That might seem reasonable. It might well be acceptable to a coach. He may well be happy with most of your free time. Most of your attention. Most of your energy. But God truly wants an ‘all in’ commitment! Jesus went ‘all in’ for us on the cross. How could I possibly not go ‘all in’ for Him?

Blessings, 

Pastor Russ