“Now in the time of his distress this same King Ahaz became yet more unfaithful to the Lord. For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had defeated him, and said. “Because the gods of the King of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.” But they became the downfall of him and all Israel.”
The game “follow the leader” we played as a kid was fun, however the leader would try to make the followers do exactly the same thing he did. This turned into a game of “can you do this” rather than just follow the leader. Needless to say, if you wanted to keep playing you had to do exactly what the leader did until he finally did something you could not and you were out.
The people of Israel were in a huge game of follow the leader. Whatever the king did it trickled down to the people. Here we find Ahaz, a wicked man, and one who did not walk in counsel of the Lord. He was king over Israel and in this case, the Lord was handing Israel over to their enemies because of the wicked things they have done.
I have often said to my family, “you will find a man’s true character when he is in distress.” I hope it has been a gauge for testing boyfriends and friends alike. King Ahaz was distressed and his true character came out. The Bible tells us that he became yet “more unfaithful to the Lord ” in the middle of his distress. His decisions thus affected more than just him. Verse 23 tells us that his decisions became the downfall of him and of all Israel. What a legacy.
Today you are burning a legacy into the minds of the people around you. When I was kid our pastor told me that you are the greatest Christian that somebody knows. We are all not perfect and we all make mistakes. It is during these times of “distress” that our true character comes out. Is your character a Godly one or do you pattern your responses after king Ahaz, grasping onto things that cause the downfall of you and the people around you? Proverbs 3:6 says, “in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight”
Today ask yourself “who do I become in the middle of my distress?” Are “all” my ways acknowledging the Lord? If I take a 20,000 view of my life, can I say that God is directing my paths? You don’t have to pray that the Lord will help you put your shoes on but you do have to realize that He is right there with you in the middle of your distress and good times. He is waiting to see what you become when distress presses in.
Let It Go 
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