Have we ever received distressing news, words that totally bring extreme anxiety, sorrow, or pain? In Dutch, we call this word “nood or angst, news that brings “bedroeven”
If we have (and if we have lived long enough, I imagine we probably have), then we know the heaviness of that burden.
Distressing news can arrive in so many mediums—-

A phone call,
A knock at our door,
A stopping by at our work desk,
An email sent to our inbox;
A whisper in our ear,
A person approaching us with the words, “We need to talk.”
A Text Message.
A Facebook post,
An Instagram message,
A WhatsApp video call, & even
A letter sent to us from another.

Just because we accept God as our Savior and believe in Him,

Just because we continually confess our sins as we seek God’s forgiveness, &

Just because we are God’s children—

Distressing news still has the potential to come our way.
What we do with the distressing news matters.
How we react to this untimely message matters.
Where we take this message matters.
Why we follow our LORD matters.

There is a beautiful melody, sung by TobyMac titled “See the Light.” If today provides you space to listen, then I hope you will listen.

The Bible provides us evidence we can study, biblical accounts of real people who walked before us, flesh and blood people who faced life and reacted to the life that was handed to them.
Do not believe me but believe God’s Word. 

Let us read how the news of distress came to a leader who walked with God, a leader who was responsible to lead others.

Let us read how the news of distress came to this leader who believed God, who worshipped God, who followed God, who was a fully human man—just like us—&

May we notice how this leader reacted.
May we see where he first turned.
May we notice where he laid his distressing news.
May we see what action he first took.
May we notice how God’s children (flesh and blood, live in the real world—-People like us) find solace and peace and comfort when they turn to God with everything as we rely solely upon the LORD.

[The king of the distressing nations] “he sent messengers again to Hezekiah saying, “Thus you shall say to Hezekiah king of Judah, “Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you saying, “Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”
Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them completely. So will you be spared?
Did the gods of those nations which my fathers destroyed deliver them,…”

[then follows a list of manmade gods and the nations’ kings]

“Then Hezekiah took the [distressing] letter from the hand of the messenger and read it, and he went up to the house of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD”

[Hezekiah, a believer in God did]

“Hezekiah prayed before the LORD…”

(2 Kings 19: 9-15)

• Oftentimes we forget how we are completely dependent upon our Creator for our next breath.
• Oftentimes we forget that our God is the God of second chances, of third, of fourth, of fifth….
• Oftentimes we forget God is the God of mercy as well as the God of grace.
• Oftentimes we forget how God removed our sins at salvation so far away—-for as far as the east is from the west.
• Oftentimes we forget to carry our burden IMMEDIATELY to GOD, despite how the distressing news arrives to us.
• Oftentimes we forget—-so much—-and thankfully God provides us reminders with His Holy Word to help us remember to take everything to God.
• Oftentimes we forget how God takes our messes and turns them into miracles. 
• Oftentimes we forget how God takes the messes of others and then allows us to watch God’s miracle unfold in their lives. 

May we pause and praise Almighty God and exclaim with our arms lifted high,