“Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of my people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you.’” (2 Kings 20:5 NKJV)

What a strange question? Does God change His mind? How would you answer the question? Most of us would emphatically say, “God is the same: yesterday, today and forever. He doesn't change His mind. What He says, He does.” Yet, it seems like God changed His mind while dealing with Hezekiah.

Isaiah, the prophet, came to King Hezekiah with a message from God, asking him to get his house in order for he was going to die. Hezekiah responded by praying, weeping bitterly and reminding God how he had walked in truth and done what was right in God’s sight. Isaiah had not even left the palace, when he came back to tell the king that God had heard his prayer, seen his tears and was adding fifteen years to his life.

Hezekiah’s repentant heart caused God to change His mind. We, often, see this pattern in the Bible; the people repenting on hearing news of the coming disaster because of their wickedness, and God, in His mercy and love, forgiving them. When the people of Nineveh heard that their city was going to be overthrown, they proclaimed a fast, cried out to God and turned from their evil ways. Finally, …God relented from the disaster that He said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it (Jonah 3:10).

Have you strayed so far away from God that you wonder if He could ever have any mercy on you? Beloved, Jesus took the punishment for your sins so that you could experience God’s abundant mercy and forgiveness. Return to Him. You are assured that, if you confess your sins, He will forgive you and cleanse you of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). He is just, faithful, compassionate, abounding in love and merciful. He does not delight in sending calamity, but delights in showing mercy.

Author: Sandra Fernandes