July 10

The Danger of Misplaced Confidence

The R.M.S. Titanic departed from Southampton, England, heading to New York City on its maiden voyage on Wednesday, April 10, 1912 at noon. In the movie, A Night to Remember, a deckhand of the ship, seeking to alleviate the fears of a second-class passenger, Mrs. Sylvia Caldwell, tells her, “Not even God could sink her.” Despite the absolute faith that some had in science and technology at the beginning of the twentieth century, the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank in less than 2 hours.

This same misplaced confidence existed in the King of Assyria, Sennacherib, as he addressed King Hezekiah.

2 Kings 18:19-20 " 'This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours? 20You say you have strategy and military strength--but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me?”

Sennacherib had reason to be confident. He had the world’s most powerful army. He had the latest in high tech weaponry. He had just defeated the city of Lachish. This city was the last line of defense for Jerusalem. Jerusalem now was surrounded and there was no one to rescue her. Sennacherib is so bold that he even jokes that God told him to march against this city. So what could stop such an overwhelming enemy? Only prayer. It was Hezekiah who turned to the Lord and asked God to fight this battle.

2 Kings 19:14-16 Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: "O Lord, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16Give ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.

No nation is unsinkable. It doesn’t matter if you have Stealth Bombers, F-14s, Star Wars lasers, Patriot missiles, Stinger missiles, and the world’s best army. If God says, “I am against you... the battle is over.”

So God answers the prayer of Hezekiah and puts to death the entire Assyrian army in one night. A hundred and eighty-five thousand men and all their fancy weapons are wiped out in one evening!!!

Is there any possibility that we are dangerously overconfident in the USA today? How many people were praying on September 10, 2001 that God would protect us? My guess is very few. How many people are praying on July 10, 2009 that God would be our protection? My guess is very few. We have ignored history once again and we find ourselves in the dangerous place of overconfidence. Take time to pray today. Pray for our country, its leaders, and the church. If the people of God will humble themselves and pray then God will hear from heaven and heal our land.