Even the most devout Christian leaders will experience times in their leadership when there appears to be no hope for success based on all our previous leadership experience. Every leader will discover there are times when it is hard to trust God. Read 2 Kings 18 and 19.

Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became king of Judah. He was a leader dedicated to God’s lifestyle principles for the people of Judah. According to 18:3-4a, “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles.”

Hezekiah did what the other kings of Judah had failed to do. He removed the high places and did not compromise or hold back in his unconditional commitment to God. Because of his devotion to God, God blessed him with success in whatever he undertook. Hezekiah led several very successful military campaigns and established Judah as a regional power.

During Hezekiah’s reign in Judah, his northern Israelite brothers, the nation of Israel fell to Assyria, the great world power of the time. Seven years later, the Assyrians were back, this time to capture the nation of Judah and the city of Jerusalem. The Assyrian king sent an advance party made up of his supreme commander, his chief officer and his field command to deliver a message to King Hezekiah. The message was short and sweet, you don’t have the power to stop us, your ally Egypt is unreliable and they cannot be relied upon to help you stop us, and even your God is too weak to stop us so surrender and we will only deport you, if not we will annihilate you.

Hezekiah had been king for 14 years, he was a great military leader and a self-confident leader of a nation but nothing in his leadership experience prepared him for this moment. Any leader that has been in leadership for a while can identify with the feeling Hezekiah had in the pit of his stomach. When Hezekiah heard the Assyrian threats, he immediately turned in his distress to the Lord. His prayer in the temple is one of complete abandonment to God’s power, and God decisively answered his petition.

As leaders who want to impact our generation for Christ, we need to lead in a way that allows others to see our faith in God. One way we can do that is by depending on God in the face of our daily pressures. The next time you’re under pressure, even pressure beyond what you can bear up under, pray for the grace you need to depend on God, who is perfectly and eternally worthy of your trust. Those you lead will see how you respond to such pressures and will follow your actions.

Psalm 118:6, 8-9 “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.”