The Hard Way
2 Chronicles 33:12-13 King Manasseh did evil in the sight of the Lord resulting in his imprisonment and then he prayed to the Lord and humbled himself, and the Lord restored him. Like Manasseh, we tend to do things the hard way.
6/24/20261 min read
Now when he was in affliction, he implored the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God. 2 Chronicles 33:12-13
Manasseh started his reign over Judah doing evil in the sight of the Lord and causing God's people to sin. Because of his evil deeds, the Lord allowed the Assyrians to capture him, taking him back to their country in bondage. When he was at his lowest, Manasseh humbled himself and prayed to the Lord, so God released him from bondage, brought him back to Jerusalem, and restored his kingdom. After that, Manasseh destroyed the idols that he put in the house of the Lord and worshiped God only.
Like Manasseh, we tend to do things our own way, thinking that we know better than God, leading us into the captivity of whatever sin we have embraced. Just because we choose to do things the hard way leading to our rock bottoms, we don't need to stay there because God can restore us from any burden as long as we pray to Him for help and are willing to do it His way. 1 Peter 5:5–6 says, “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.” God opposes the proud and exalts the humble.
Don't wait till your "rock-bottom" to follow the Lord, but choose to do a daily inventory, looking for sin in your life and giving it to God. Read your bible daily and choose to follow what God has written for you. Pray daily and listen to the Spirit that is within you, guiding you to do what is right. If you hear the voice from within warning you, stop what you are doing, and search the scripture, talk to an elder, or the pastor of your church for direction. When you choose to live life God's way instead of the hard way, you find peace, prosperity, and a hope of a better life.