II Kings 22:19 Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent they clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the LORD.
Not far outside the city limits of Douglas, Wyoming there is a park where there are traces of the old Oregon Trail used by pioneers going from the east all the way to the coast in Oregon. The remnants of that trail are in the rock; they are ruts. They will be there for a long time, maybe forever. Sometimes we feel like we are stuck in a rut in life. Let me be clear, when we say that we are stuck in a rut, stuck does not mean static. To be in a rut does not mean you are spinning your wheels and not going anywhere. It means you are going somewhere that is inevitable, that this path, this rut, always leads to this destination.
Presumably, you could take a jeep to the ruts of the Oregon Trail today and eventually arrive in the same place as people did so many years ago. So, being stuck is not the same as being static. But many times we feel like we are stuck. We feel like we are trapped because of our nation, family, or personal circumstances. I want to remind you that you are never doomed to a rut against your will.
That is true when it comes to your family. I am not saying that family doesn’t matter or that family does not exert a tremendous influence on a person. But, you are never doomed to a rut against your will.
In II Kings 21:26 we have the introduction to the life of Josiah which says that his father “was buried in his sepulchre in the garden of Uzza: and Josiah his son reigned in his stead.” Many times in these records of the kings you find that a king is buried and his son reigns in his stead. In other words, anyone who has ever been born eventually died. At some point you are going to take the place of those who have gone before, and at some point someone is going to take your place. This is simply to say that precedents can be accepted or rejected. No one is doomed to a rut against his will.
For instance, Josiah’s father, Manasseh, was a wicked king. He did that which was evil, yet of Josiah the Bible says that “he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the ways of David his father.” Regardless of the national condition, Josiah had to choose what he would do. Despite the family precedent, Josiah had a choice of how he would live. So, he broke with the precedent of his father and adopted the precedent of one that had gone long before him. He wasn’t doomed to a family precedent.
We are not doomed nationally. It is so easy to feel like the whole country is going in the wrong direction, and I am just being swept along by this giant tidal wave. When Josiah humbled himself before God and heard what God had to say, God pronounced judgment on the nation, but He says in verse 18, “But to the king of Judah…because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD, when thou heardest what I spake against this place… I also have heard thee, saith the LORD.” “You have heard me,” God says, “and I will hear you. I have heard your prayer.”
Nationally, he had a choice. Family, he had a choice. Personally, you have a choice. Some of the kings of God’s people started off horribly but did the right thing at the end, and some kings began wonderfully but did the wrong thing at the end. It does matter how you use the balance of your life, but every day is a fresh start to a wise person. You are never doomed to a rut against your will.
The only things that are eternal are God and His Word. When Josiah found God’s eternal Word, he amended his conduct to God’s Word. Now your character is not eternal. It can be good or bad depending on the choices you make any given day. So what is important is that you are humble and that you will hear God. Will you humble yourself before God and hear what He has said?
You may come from a great church, a great family, and live in a good country. Or, you may have a very rough background. Ultimately, stability comes from latching on to the eternal. God’s Word is eternal. It works. It is inspired by God, the One Who created us and this universe. No one is trapped by the past who will courageously follow God’s Word for life as he contemplates the future.