—stories I don't often read and came across God's promise to Josiah. What made me pause were two pink hearts I had drawn next to the verses and a short prayer written in the margin, along with another two hearts.
"Lord Jesus, may You give me the same mercy and grace you gave Josiah."
I finished annotating my entire Bible a few months before everything went sideways in 2020. I don't remember the specific timeframe I studied 2 Chronicles, but it was likely a few years beforehand. For a frame of reference, it took me 8 years to annotate my entire Bible from cover to cover. I began in June/July of 2012 and finished in April of 2020.
Every now and again, I come across random short prayers asking for mercy and deliverance in my notes. They're absolutely precious to me, because God answered every one and I have a written record of them. My entire Bible is a testament and a time capsule of God's goodness, because even in my bondage He allowed me a quiet classroom to learn of Him. 🩷 I'm still studying out of this Bible and still adding notes as space allows, but I had forgotten about this prayer jotted in 2 Chronicles until this evening.
Considering it now, I am reminded that God did indeed hear my weeping before Him and knew my tender heart in the midst of it all. He did, in fact, gather me in peace, and I do believe I will see peace now, and nothing more, until my last breath.
I knew disaster was coming; it was only a matter of time. God promised Josiah, "Your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place."
God could not ignore the sins of the people, but for Josiah's sake, He had mercy and did not let His wrath fall until he had passed away. I think God did this due to Josiah's tender and humble heart.
There are some people who are more traumatized by things than others, those who are of a gentle and quiet spirit. To lay more sorrow upon them would prove more than they could bear. God had already witnessed Josiah's mourning and heartbreak up to this point. His promise was to spare him any more grief. To break Josiah's heart even more would have likely broken the bruised reed once and for all.
God held back His anger as a mercy to Josiah, not to the people. "You have suffered enough. I have made a covenant of peace with you and will honor it. Your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place."
So there's peace, but there's tension. Josiah knew judgment was coming, yet he also knew he wouldn't witness it fall. And how sweet is that when you truly think about it? God cares to protect our hearts and our minds from fracturing. It is enough to know it's coming, but God would have even our eyes to remain pure. He withholds such heavy knowledge from the pure in heart. Why? So that they wouldn't experience it in any way. Not even looking on from some far off place.
This speaks to God's integrity and His faithfulness to His children. He honors those who humble themselves before Him, and I believe He has answered my prayer of old, prayed who knows how long ago.
"It is a wisdom not meant for you to know. All you are to know is peace and mercy for the rest of your days."
The magnitude of this answered prayer is not lost on me.
I stand humbled and amazed.
Thank You, Lord Jesus.