Isaiah 38:17-20
The term “get your house in order” means an awful lot to me these days. Each one of
my kids is making big plans for their lives and needs support to accomplish them. One
is going to Alaska for the summer, one is planning to study abroad in Norway and the
third just told me that he is going to switch to pre-med. I am teaching them how to get
their house in order while also not doing too much for them.
We live in a society where goals, action steps, planning ahead and planning our rest are
skills taught to our kids from a young age. We can watch our school-age children
respond to planning in two ways, it either helps them get things done, or they rebel
against the structure, and they don’t care about the deadlines. This setting of goals and
working against deadlines can be a way of getting our house in order.
Getting my house in order right now is the task of getting it ready for sale and packing
up the extras to be ready to move. I am learning that I have things that I enjoy, but a lot
of my extra stuff is just that, extra. It is getting easier for me to not hold too tightly to my
stuff, but to live simply and enjoy the people I am with. When your life changes it is
easier to recognize what you truly value and invest your life into.
God used this term “get your house in order” when talking to Hezekiah in Isaiah 38.
Hezekiah had fallen ill and God had proclaimed to him that he was going to die, like
most of us would, Hezekiah cried out to God to allow him to live. God in His sovereignty
listened and gave Hezekiah an additional 15 years to his life. Hezekiah turned in praise
to God and worshipped Him saying in verses 17-20:
17 “Lo, for my own welfare I had great bitterness; It is You who has kept my soul
from the pit of nothingness, For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.
18 “For Sheol cannot thank You, Death cannot praise You; Those who go down to
the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness. 19 “It is the living who give thanks to You,
as I do today; A father tells his sons about Your faithfulness. 20 “The Lord will
surely save me; So we will play my songs on stringed instruments All the days of
our life at the house of the Lord.”
Let us get our houses in order as Hezekiah did, he turned to God for His needs and
concerns turning in worship to God for His work. Hezekiah knew he had another 15
years and was able to be bold in His faith for God. Hezekiah’s life was focused on
reforming the worship of Judah, he restored the temple and was zealous in purging the
nation of false idols. Hezekiah spent his life getting it and everything under his influence
in order so that they may worship God.
My house and life can be chaos as we try to get everything in order, but my heart and
thoughts need to be focused on God’s glory. What do you need to get in order in your
life to free up time to worship God? What is holding you back? What do you need to
turn over to God? Knowing our lives are short, what can you do to bring glory to God
with your life?