2 Kings 20:8-11 8 Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What is the sign that the LORD will heal me and that I will go up to the LORD’s temple on the third day? ” 9 Isaiah said, “This is the sign to you from the LORD that He will do what He has promised: Should the shadow go ahead 10 steps or go back 10 steps? ” 10 Then Hezekiah answered, “It’s easy for the shadow to lengthen 10 steps. No, let the shadow go back 10 steps.” 11 So Isaiah the prophet called out to the LORD, and He brought the shadow back the 10 steps it had descended on Ahaz’s stairway.
It’s simple, really. A shadow is a rough image cast by an object that is blocking rays of illumination. In other words, when light is shining on you there will be a shadow on the other side. Like the famous groundhog, Hezekiah saw his shadow. But his shadow didn’t mean 6 more weeks of winter. It was a confirmation to an answered prayer. This whole situation came about because Hezekiah was told he was going to die. But he prayed and asked God to heal him. So God decided to heal him and give him 15 more years to live, and the shadow was the proof it would happen.
Now it wasn’t really the shadow that was the confirmation, it was what the shadow did. This shadow broke the laws of physics by moving back 10 steps. (It would have been fun if God made shadow puppets on the wall; that would have really freaked Hezekiah out.) It was impossible override of nature courtesy of the Almighty. He asked Hezekiah what he wanted his shadow to do, so he asked for it to go back 10 steps on its own. This miraculous act was the evidence that God would heal him – and He did.
The point of all this to me is that God has an override card. He created creation and he can break the laws of nature. He can heal where there is no cure. He can bring things to life that have been left for dead. He can make shadows do whatever He wants them to do. He can rescue those who seem unreachable. And He answers prayer. Where does that leave us? I hope it leaves us in a position of asking. Like Hezekiah, we can boldly ask the Lord to intervene… not only because He can, but because He loves us.
Abundant Life 