In Isaiah and 2 Kings, we read about how Hezekiah gets a dramatic second chance in life. I like to think of it as an Old Testament conversion story. His illness is like the sin that burdens the unsaved. He pleads to God for healing and rationalizes about the unfairness of his condition. Then, by God's grace, he's blessed with healing and a rebirth to life. God even performs an astonishing miracle of "turning back time" to put his stamp on the event. Isn't that like the second chance in life Christians get when they accept Christ as their savior? And, for us, Christ's death and resurrection is the ultimate miracle signifying our redemption.
Now, let's look how Hezekiah responds to his new life. Look at the thankfulness and zeal that drove his restored faith. The King James version puts it this way, "The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children, shall make known thy truth" (Isaiah 38:19). In the 1990's, Bill McCartney a football coach at the University of Colorado read these verses as a call to start a ministry for men to renew their commitment to God and their families. "Promise Keepers" filled stadiums around the country with men who confessed their shortcomings and pledged to build their relationships and witness for Christ. Coach McCartney saw the story of Hezekiah as a call to revival -- to make the most of the life we have left on earth to serve God. Shouldn't we do the same?
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