A young lad named Josiah enjoyed peaceful living. He followed the Lord and helped those around him to follow God as well. God placed Josiah in a prominent position and he led people well due to his faith in God. God was allowed to be first in his life for Josiah desired to believe God.
He began his reign as king of Judah at age 8. Even then, he lived to please God. He did what was right in the Lord’s sight. His choices indicated that he was raised to know God. At age 16, he began to seek God. At age 20, he purified himself and called all believers to purify themselves. They cleaned up any pagan, worldly ways of living. By age 26, Josiah appointed men to restore the Temple. (Read 2 Chronicles 34:1-13 to see about these early days of his life.)
You can read about Josiah’s life in 2 Chronicles 34-35.
One’s faith journey can be seen in Josiah. Faith begins by hearing about God and His ways. God begins the seed planting in your heart so one day you will choose to follow His Son. Something flickers within your heart and God is calling you to respond. The response that God is looking for is one of brokenness and repentance from your sins. You admit your sins (things that you do that do not align with God’s ways) and you make the decision to follow God from now on. You fully understand your need to be saved from: 1. This sinful world that could care less if you knew or followed God, 2. Your own flesh which is set on autopilot to do its own thing away from God, and 3. From Satan who is doing everything he can to keep you from following the Trinity. He despises God and he wants you to ignore Him.
You now workout your faith by becoming more and more like Christ; see 1 Corinthians 11:1, John 3:30, and Romans 12:2. You remove the things in your life that are not godly. The Holy Spirit will lead you in your sanctification process. He will lead you in becoming holy. You become holy by walking obediently to God. Essentially, you do what God tells you. If He tells you to stop something, you do it. You change for Him. God is needing to prepare you for heaven one day.
God will allow hardships to occur so you have opportunities to trust Him. You are learning to walk by faith. You become better acquainted at surrendering to the Spirit’s leading. You become more willing because you have come to know that Christ is completely trustworthy. He wants to be your best friend.
When all three persons of the Trinity are engaged within you, God has freedom to use you for His glory.
Study the two chapters in 2 Chronicles and see what else you learn about responding to God according to His Word. God does have a standard of how every person is to respond to the Good News He offers. You see God’s standard throughout the 66 books within the Bible.
While Josiah walked faithfully with God, he also did what many do, he let his guard down. You see his faux paus in 2 Chronicles 35:20-27. The enemy showed up for battle. Everyday, every believer has to ready themselves for Satan, the temptations in this world, and their flesh. Life on earth for every believer is a war zone. These three nemesis never take a break! Every morning you must be battle ready. “Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.” (Lamentations 3:23)
What did Josiah do? He chose to ignore God and handle the situation himself. He misunderstood the situation. He lost his life because of it. What can we learn from his faux paus? Independent living apart from God leads to death! No one is made to live independently apart from Him, ever!
Here’s an example of ignoring God. Husbands, do you realize how vital your obedience to God is when it comes to your marriage and your family? An Instagram post speaks of this clearly, the author is unknown, “The devil hates a man who understands his assignment as the head of the household is far greater than just providing. The head of the household is the first line of defense for his wife and children. The most effective way to get to the wife and children and destroy the integrity of the home is to take out the head.” Husbands, don’t become lazy in this vital calling! Wives suffer from husbands who do not step up spiritually. When wives have to step up and take the spiritual lead, an abyss is placed between the two spouses, and God cannot unite in love the marriage. Both of your faiths is hindered.
How do you ignore God? Be honest with yourself and then go to God in prayer and allow Him to show you through His Word where you sin and turn away from Him. Confess and repent and allow God to change your independent ways to dependence upon Him in all areas of your life. You will be met with love, grace, and mercy from the One who loves you more than you love yourself.
God takes you at any age and begins the most wonderful transformation within you. Heaven is soon approaching, are you ready?
Carol J German 