The Restoration

Let me tell you the story of a young man. His name was Josiah. He was 8 years old when his father Amon was assassinated. This made him king of Judah. His father was very evil and did many horrible things during his 2 year reign in Judah. But when Josiah took over at the age of eight years, he was the complete opposite of his father. This young man took the nation of Judah and completely restored them. He destroyed all the high places and idols, the sorcerers and magicians. When the priest found the book of the law and it was read to Josiah, he wept and rent his clothes over the state of Judah. 2 Kings 22:19 says "thine heart was tender, and thou has humbled thyself before the Lord...and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord."

Josiah's zeal for God was completely unmatched in history. Even the great King David was no match compared to this young boy. In 2 Kings 23:25 it says, "And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him."

How refreshing to read a story of this young man whose zeal for God was so unquenchable. Even when all his family was evil and bent on a destructive path, he saw the light and followed it. When the rest of Israel was bowing down to false gods, Josiah was weeping before the One True God.

Perhaps Josiah's story is not as well known as Abraham's or David's, but it should be. Josiah loved God with all his heart, and he made a difference by living out his faith. God used him to restore the nation of Judah, even at the age of 8. One of the biggest lies we buy is that we are too young to make much of a difference for God, so we'll just wait until we're older to follow God with all our heart. It doesn't hurt to live a little first does it? Every minute that we live for our own will and not God's is a minute that is lost. We aren't promised tomorrow. And even if we do have tomorrow, think about how much you could do tomorrow if you started now. You can't build a house in a day, and if you wait until you are old to start building yours, what's it going to look like?

Let's restore our lives to the God who paid the ultimate price for us, before it's too late.

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