Long ago in a land far, far away, there lived a king who loved God with all his heart, soul, and mind. His reign was marked by signs of this faith in all that he did. History books say there was never another king who was faithful like him in this land neither before nor after his time.

One day a dreadful enemy declared war on this king and his people. The enemy sent a messenger to the godly king with a message that struck fear and dread in the hearts of all who heard it. The evil king commanded his messenger to read his terrifying message loudly to all the citizens and leaders alike in a common language to ensure no one could escape the knowledge of this certain destruction.

All the people who heard this message tore their clothes in despair, sure that all hope was lost.

When the godly king heard this message, he too tore his clothes and quickly went to the temple of the Lord to pray. He also sent a message to a prophet of God, asking that prophet to pray on their behalf too. The prophet responded with a message of courage and help from God himself.

But before the godly king could even enjoy a moment of this comforting message, the evil king sent one more message. This time the message was addressed directly to the godly king.

This message is for the King.

 Don’t let this God you trust deceive you with promises that you won’t be captured. You know perfectly well what my warriors have done wherever they have gone. They have crushed everyone who stood in their way! Why should you be any different? Have the gods of other nations rescued them? My predecessors have destroyed them all! Look at what has happened to them.

You and your kingdom are mine. Your God is powerless. (paraphrase of 2 Kings 19:10-13)

The godly king read these words and went immediately to the Lord’s temple. He spread the letter out before God and prayed:

O Lord, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. Bend down, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see! Listen [to the evil king’s] words of defiance against the living God.

It is true, Lord, that [these evil kings] have destroyed all these nations. And they have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire and burned them. But of course [they] could destroy them! They were not gods at all—only idols of wood and stone shaped by human hands. Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, O Lord, are God. (2 Kings 19:15-19 NLT)

Do you know how this story ends? Do the details sound familiar to you?

They should.

Even though this particular account happened thousands of years ago (as documented in the book of 2 Kings in the Bible), these events still play out every single day in real time in our world today.

Not so long ago in a land not so far away, someone is

• facing a battle against seemingly impossible odds.
• confronting threats backed with evidence of tremendous evil.
• hearing powerful people insult God’s goodness, love, and capabilities.
• calling out to God to rescue them and show all the kingdoms of the earth that he alone is God.

AND not so long ago in a land not so far away, we can still respond the way the godly king did.

We can spread our concerns out before our incredible God in prayer. We can place our trust in his goodness, power, and love despite terrifying threats from problems that boast of a perfect track record. We can believe that his solution is the only one we want, regardless of how it looks on paper today.

We can know that he holds the only TRUE “happily ever after” in his good and merciful hands.

(And if you want to know how the godly king’s story ends, check out 2 Kings chapters 18 and 19.)