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“Neither  before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did – with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength in accordance with the Law of Moses.”  2 Kings 23:25 (ESV)

Getting what God didn’t have for us always brings less joy than we imagined and more consequences we hadn’t envisioned. It’s the proverbial cycle of following after the wrong things or people who lead us down a path God never intended. We’ve all been there when the temptation to do life our way tasted so good but unfortunately was short lived. Easy to get caught up in the moments without seeing the influence we’re leaving behind.

A journey through I & II Kings and I & II Chronicles echoes influencers of not good. King after king used their power and influence to create ungodly agendas without even a thought of those being led astray. “He did evil in the eyes of the Lord” was a common descriptor of kings who worshipped idols and aroused the anger of our God. Caught up in their glory, these kings did not turn away from the sins of their fathers, were not careful to keep the law, and led Israel to sin. Precisely not the kind of influencer one would desire to follow, yet the Children of Israel were followers regardless of whether the one leading was good or evil.

And then there was Josiah, the fifteenth king of Judah. Despite becoming king at age eight, Josiah’s heart was devoted to the One true God. He did what was right in the Lord’s eyes and walked in the ways of King David, a man after God’s own heart. Setting a godly example was paramount for Josiah as he purged and cleansed the land from idol worship.

During a pivotal moment in Josiah’s reign, the priest Hilkiah found the book of the law given by God to Moses. When Josiah heard the reading of the law, his heart was grieved by how far God’s people had turned from obedience and clung to sin. Deeply convicted, Josiah led a covenant renewal ceremony pledging to follow the Lord wholeheartedly and compelled the people of Judah to join him.  And in his eighteenth year as King, Josiah celebrated a grand Passover to the Lord unlike any other celebrated during the days of the kings of Israel and kings of Judah. One man, Josiah,  chose to follow hard after God, and his faithfulness was contagious.

Influencers in our world today are multiplying faster than we could ever imagine. Social media offers a platform where anyone can say anything and influence others in a myriad of ways. Ever so easy to follow cultural trends and settle for the flashy, compelling influencer who sounds convincing and knowledgeable. Yet, we would be wise to carefully guard our minds from those whose aim is to draw us away from our God. Anything and everything can sound like truth but the twisting of those truths which tingle our ears ultimately never serves us well.

As daughters of the Most High God, we must be rooted in the truth of His word so we won’t fall prey to the wrong influencers.  Only way to ensure we are covered by His truth is to immerse ourselves daily into the study and application of God’s word. Our God is the best influencer of all time, and He will always lead us towards goodness and righteousness. We can trust Him completely without a shadow of doubt – His influence will always serve us well.

“Father, help us to be influencers for Your glory drawing others to Your heart.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life