2 Chronicles 30:19

When Hezekiah was king the dam broke. The people had been worshiping worthless idols, living in disobedience. I imagine they probably felt good about themselves thinking they were just fine doing what they were doing. But they weren’t fine. People living apart from God are never truly fine.

Like it or not. Deny it or not. There is a void placed by God in every human heart that can only be fulfilled by God Himself.

When the people heard the Truth and recognized their sinfulness, they couldn’t get to God fast enough. The dam that had separated them from God broke and the flood of repentance poured out. Hundreds of people hurried to the temple to offer sacrifices for their sin. In fact, so many came that the priests had trouble keeping up with the flow.

Then Hezekiah prayed:

May the Lord who is good, pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God… even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.

You see, these people didn’t take time to clean themselves up. They went directly to the blood of the sacrifice. The rules of the sanctuary as had been explained by Moses weren’t abolished. But by the grace of God they were fulfilled on behalf of those who came seeking God for forgiveness.

And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people. (verse 20)

Paul tells us:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

What we see here in 2 Chronicles and what is affirmed throughout the New Testament is that you don’t need to stop sinning, do X amount of good things, quit smoking or swearing BEFORE you go to God. Hezekiah calls it setting our hearts in seeking God. Paul calls it faith.

If you, dear one, would just run to the blood of Jesus instead of trying to make yourself feel worthy, if you would just place your faith in Jesus, the dam will break. The separation between you and God will be washed away and you will receive the beautiful, complete gift of salvation.

Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. (Acts 16:31)

The grace of God saved the Jews whose hearts were set on seeking Him. That same grace of God can save you, too.