2 Chronicles 32

Hezekiah faced a formidable enemy in Sennacherib king of Assyria, who had just carried the northern tribes into captivity (2 Kings 17) and now was laying siege to Lachish, northwest of Jerusalem. In 2 Kings 18:13-16 we find that Hezekiah first sought to pay off the Assyrian king to keep him from coming against Jerusalem. The cost was immense, requiring Hezekiah to empty the coffers of the Temple and palace and even to strip the Temple doors and posts of their gold in order to meet Sennacherib’s demands. Obviously, it would not be enough to appease him. He is now threatening to lay siege to Jerusalem. So, Hezekiah makes preparations for war, cutting off the water supply outside the city, repairing the wall of Jerusalem, and even equipping the people with weapons. He then encouraged a fearful people to be strong and courageous. He said to them:

“”Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.”

(2 Chronicles 32:7-8, NKJV)

Now, I believe in making preparations and in planning, as well as in placing our complete trust in the Lord. However, I wonder why Hezekiah felt that he could buy off the king of Assyria. I wonder why he didn’t trust God first instead of trying to bribe the king at great cost. I am reminded of a song that was one of my mother’s favorites and I can still hear her playing the piano and singing it.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,

When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,

When we reach the end of our hoarded resources

Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

—He Giveth More Grace, Annie J. Flint

So before he starts his seige and to soften up the resistance, Sennacherib decides to employ the tactics of intimidation and subterfuge. He sends servants to start a campaign of verbal assaults on Jerusalem while he continues his siege of Lachish. They focus on undermining Hezekiah’s leadership and ridiculing his ability to protect and deliver his people. Who does he think he is that he can withstand the forces of Assyria, who have gone undefeated on a rampage of conquest? The Assyrian enemy threatens the people with hunger and thirst, questioning Yahweh’s power to deliver them. They remind the people of their victorious conquests over other nations and their gods. They were continuous in their verbal onslaughts (verse 16). Sennacherib also wrote letters intensifying his verbal assaults on Hezekiah and his God. The servants made sure that they were heard, for they were speaking these threats in the Hebrew language.

These are the tactics of an enemy seeking to discourage and debilitate the people of God.

During 2021 and 2022, Barna Group found that a large and growing percentage of pastors (around half) were seriously contemplating leaving the ministry. I can identify with their sentiments. I am going to be vulnerable here and express how the enemy has been attacking me. I feel that some of you will be able to identify with my situation.

I serve in a small denomination as the Director of Home Missions and Evangelism. I have been given the tasks of 1) encouraging revival, 2) helping struggling churches, and 3) recruiting and deploying church planters. The past 20 years have seen our numbers decline to the point that we are half as numerous as before across the spectrum of churches and pastors. To say that my job is challenging might be an understatement.

Revival is something I strongly encourage, but I have no control over when, where, or on whom it may fall.

I want to help struggling churches, but many don’t realize that they are struggling and won’t realize it until they are nearing the end and considering closing. When there are too few who are too old and have too little energy, what can I do to turn things around. Then multiply this many times over and you will begin to see my dilemma.

On top of this, I must find a way to recruit church planters at a time when fewer young people are entering the ministry, when only 17% of current pastors in America is under age 40, and when more pastors are dying, retiring, or just deciding to leave the ministry. This situation might keep a director up at night. The voice of the enemy reverberates in my head.

The enemy has been telling me that this is an impossible situation, that I am wasting my few remaining years, that this is a hopeless cause and useless expenditure of energy. I hear this voice telling me that my denomination doesn’t really care about this cause, that they don’t support it like they do other areas of ministry, and that I am wasting what few resources we have for home missions in my endeavors. He says that I don’t have what it takes; I’m not good enough. My enemy tells me it’s time to give up, to find something more rewarding to attempt, to turn in my resignation, and to walk away. After all, there are other ministries where my talents can be used, other places that need my help, other people who might appreciate what I have to offer.

I could go on, but I think you get the idea. As with Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the enemy goes on speaking against the LORD God and against me and His people. Remember, our enemy, Satan, is the accuser. He delights to use these tactics to undermine God’s work. Now, I am not sharing these sentiments to get sympathy. I am sharing them because I believe that the enemy is using these tactics in a number of places with a number of churches and pastors. I want you to understand that the attacks are real, that they tend to wear a person down, and can, in a weak moment when we let our guard down, do real damage to ourselves and the Lord’s work. If we surrender, the enemy wins without a real fight.

Even as I sit here writing these thoughts, I have to fight off these attacks. I have been in the ministry for almost 49 years now, and I have heard this same voice and these same verbal assaults many times. I confess that on occasion, I have listened to them and, sadly, failed to trust God and His Word. This has led to regrets in the ministry. On other occasions, I have fought them off and found victory. Sometimes, I have struggled to know whether the voice was the enemy trying to undermine God’s work or God’s voice leading me to move on. THE STRUGGLE IS REAL. I want to follow in the steps of the Spirit, and not walk after the flesh!

This might be an important time to hear the words of Hezekiah again:
“Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed….”
And a time to increase your prayers for struggling pastors and church leaders…