Readings for today: 2 Kings 22-23, 2 Chronicles 34-35
Josiah is one of my favorites. So much so, I named my son after him. His heart is pure. He seeks the Lord. He humbles himself when he hears God’s Word. He obeys God’s commands. He purges the land of idolatry and evil. He re-institutes right worship. It’s amazing. His faithfulness to the Lord spawns a revival in the land. The people follow his lead. And Israel staves off disaster for yet another generation.
As a pastor, I’ve been blessed to part of such spiritual renewals. I saw it in seminary when I worked in New Jersey State Prison. The inmate church loved the Word of God. They had godly leaders like Nathan and Philip and Rich and Sam and so many others. Black, white, and brown. All passionately committed to the Lord and the results were incredible. I saw it in my first church in Mobile. A group of people who loved Jesus and His Word and loved each other and who were willing to take the risk to follow a young, naive preacher into some crazy ministry. They had godly leaders like Buddy, Daisy, Bill, Sissy, Deb and so many others. All passionately committed to the Lord and the results were incredible. I’ve seen it in my current church. A people who love the Word of God and each other and our community. We have an unbelievable number of godly leaders from all walks of life. All passionately committed to the Lord and the results we’re seeing are incredible.
Does it mean there aren’t challenges? Of course not. Spiritual renewal never progresses in a straight line. It’s not always up and to the right. Not everyone accepts it. Not everything goes well. There are always setbacks along the way. Fighting idolatry is hard. Fighting ingrained behavior is hard. Fighting the naturally selfish and sinful heart is hard. But if godly leaders remain faithful to the Lord. Preach and teach His Word. Obey His commands. Revival comes. Renewal comes. Not always in the way we expect. Not always according to our measures for success. But it comes nonetheless because God shows His favor on those who passionately seek Him.
This has wide implications not only for us as individuals or for the local church. Josiah is the leader of a nation. His example sets the tone for all of God’s people. He uses his influence to change hearts and minds and lead his people to a closer relationship with the Lord. The same could be true for every community. Every city. Every county. Every state. Even for our entire nation. But we need godly leaders to show us the way. Godly character is the most important quality in an elected leader. A heart after God. A heart that is committed to Him with a passion to serve Him and to see all peoples be blessed in His name. This is what our world needs and it begins with each one of us. Are we such leaders? In our homes? In our schools? In our neighborhoods? In our places of work? Are we such leaders in our churches? In our communities? In our world? How are we leveraging our godly influence in order to bring spiritual renewal to our land?