Introduction and discussion
10 minutes
Give some background to Hezekiah’s story. Say: Hezekiah was king of Judah when the Assyrian empire was the region’s superpower. King Sennacherib of Assyria and his predecessors had laid waste to nations, imprisoning and deporting captives from their homelands to different territories. In no time, this ‘agent of war’ knocked on Judah’s door and Hezekiah was faced with a major headache. In a futile attempt to halt the might of Assyria and appease Sennacherib, Hezekiah gave all Judah’s precious ornaments but it wasn’t enough! Sennacherib still wanted more and when King Hezekiah decided to stand firm, he posed a crucial question that went to the very core of Hezekiah and of Judah: ‘On what are you basing this confidence of yours?’ Split your young people into smaller groups to discuss these questions:
- How do you react to challenging situations? Let the group give examples they are comfortable sharing. You should also have your own examples ready, just in case.
- What would you have done if you were Hezekiah?
Lean on me
10 minutes
Ask an older (and stronger) young person to lean backwards onto the back of a younger or smaller member of the group, so the older teen is resting completely on them. See how long they can stay in this position for - but keep an eye on the younger person to avoid injury! Depending on the size of the group, you could use a number of young people. To make it more fun, give a prize to the last pair standing.
Say: At times, situations can be overwhelming, weighing us down and becoming too much to handle. Some difficulties are more severe than others but they can all feel like the most important thing on the planet. It is especially in times like these though that God wants us to lean on him. He loves us dearly and like a good father, he will not leave us alone when we face difficulties. However as 1 Peter 5:7 says, we need to ‘Give all our worries and cares to God, for he truly cares about us’.
The story
5 minutes
Read 2 Kings 19:1, 14-19 as a group and say: when Hezekiah received the threatening letter, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord. If we tear our clothes every time we face challenging situations, we’ll probably have nothing left to wear (or we could start the ‘Sackcloth’ fashion line). Instead of ripping our clothes, we could bare our hearts to God in prayer. Like Hezekiah, when circumstances are so far out of our control that attempting to regain control only leaves us more frustrated, we can just let go, lay it out before God, take the heavy bag off and rest our heads on his chest. Interestingly, Hezekiah means ‘God is my strength’.
Key Point 1
Leaning on God means intentionally trusting him to see us through whatever situation we find ourselves in. Solutions may or may not be instantaneous but he does promise a kind of illogical peace that thrives in the midst of chaos. 1 Corinthians 12:9 says, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.’
Test rest!
5 minutes
Give fluffy cushions to the group to rest their heads on as if resting on God before playing ‘Good, good father’ by Housefires (available here). During this time, encourage the group to intentionally let go and rest on God. At the end of the song, read this quote from Karen Sloan: ‘We are designed by God to be dependent. It is a twofold dependence - firstly, directly upon God, and secondly, indirectly upon God through those people God brings into our lives. Our existence is to be one of interconnection, not isolation.’
Together we stand
5 minutes
In pairs, get the group to sit on the floor back-to-back, with legs flat on the floor. They should lock arms and push each other upwards as they stand up together. You could make it more exciting by rewarding the pair with the cleanest or most synchronised manoeuvre. To add a bit of cheesiness to proceedings, you could play ‘Lean on me’ by The Winans in the background.
Key Point 2
We lean on each other to spread the load not transfer it over, to help push one another upwards and forward. King Hezekiah, recognised that he could not do it all himself and importantly, he had trustworthy people like Eliakim, Shebna and Joah he could rely on.
Quickfire
5 minutes
Give the group 30 seconds to write the names of two or three people they can wholeheartedly rely on or call trustworthy. Once they’ve done this, encourage them to think about whether they would be on anyone else’s list.
Say: We cannot always solve our problems ourselves and at times, God wants us to actively fellowship with one another in order to make our loads a little bit lighter and to give us the experience we need to help others in the future. Also, humility encourages us to lean on each other. Paul said something interesting on this subject in 2 Corinthians 1:4: ‘God comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.’ (NLT)
Key Point 3
We lean on God, so that others can also lean on us.
Prayer Wall
10 minutes
Close by creating a prayer wall. Using the crinkled old coloured papers, ask each young person to write a prayer point. Put them all in a basket and ask each person (depending on group size) to randomly pick a prayer sheet and spend a few minutes praying about it. After they’ve prayed, stick their prayer sheet on a board or wall. They could also take a picture of the wall as a reminder that someone is praying for them and vice versa.
Kenneth Jimah is Youth Leader at Upper-Room Foursquare Chapel
