December 21, 2023

II Chronicles 33: 13 And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God. (NIV)

While God always honors faith, He doesn’t always work in the same way in all of our lives.*

Today’s MSM (mainstream media) could learn from the chronicler of Manasseh’s life. He did not attempt to gloss over the king’s badness (read about him in the preceding verses of this chapter) but, rather, impartially presented the facts of his life. The king did evil in the eyes of the Lord and suffered for it but, when in distress he sought the favor of the Lord and humbled himself, he had his kingdom restored to him. It has been noted that Manasseh’s story served as an object lesson of what happens when an evil king repents* – and that is true. But it is not the story of what always happens when someone, king or not, repents.

Can you pinpoint the moment when you knew that the Lord is God? Did your experience follow a pattern similar to Manasseh’s – bad behavior, followed by suffering, followed by seeking the Lord and humbling yourself, followed by living happily ever after? Chances are, your personal testimony is its own unique story, unlike any other. Maybe your story contains drama and suspense. Or perhaps, like mine, it is a gradual build-up to the defining moment. Or, maybe there was no one particular defining moment but a series of them over your lifetime.

The real lesson here is found in this phrase: “the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea.” That part of the story is universal to all testimonies. When we turn to the Lord in humble repentance, he is always moved and he is always faithful to listen to our pleas. What happens next is your testimony – personal and powerful. A story waiting to be told.

Even if you don’t know much about the Bible, one thing you do know is what God has done for you.*