He Turned To

2 Kings 23:25

And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.

I don't think we look at Josiah as we should. The Scriptures say that he turned to the LORD. This means that he had to turn from something to become what he was. When you look at Josiah in this manner, you realize the greatness of Josiah. This means he was something else before he became the great man that God made him to be. To say that Josiah turned to the LORD would be the same as saying that he repented. When I say repented, I am not just saying that he repented for salvation, although he had to so that he could be saved, but he repented from another life to become the Josiah that we all know, the Josiah that was used to bring a great revival to Judah.

Let me explain by using my pastor, Dr. Jack Hyles, as an illustration. Bro. Hyles grew up in a liberal southern Baptist movement. His mentality and philosophy came from liberalism. However, he turned to the LORD and became the staunch conservative, independent Baptist that those in my generation knew him to be. He went from running with everyone to practicing ecclesiastical separation. He went from correcting the King James Bible to holding a strong stand that the King James Bible was the inspired and preserved Word of God, and that every word of God was preserved in the KJB. You could say that he turned to the LORD just like Josiah did. Those of us who knew Bro. Hyles would agree that he continually grew until the day he died; he continually turned from the liberalism from what he grew up in to holding the right positions of the Scriptures.

If you are going to grow like Josiah or Bro. Hyles, then you must turn to the LORD in three areas. First, you must turn to Him with all your heart. Turning to the LORD with all your heart means you make Him the center of all you do. It means you totally invest your emotions and life in God; He becomes the hub that you plan your life around. This is the first step to growing like these men. If your heart is not turned away from anyone or anything else, you will never turn to the LORD.

Second, you must turn your soul to the LORD. Your soul is your identification. To turn your soul to the LORD means you will totally identify with the LORD in your dress, actions, and all that you do. People should be able to look at you and know that you have turned to the LORD. They should be able to see you and know you belong ONLY to God.

Third, you must turn your might to the LORD. Your might is your strength. When you turn your might to the LORD, you give your whole energy and strength to serve the LORD. There is nothing that you give more energy towards than the LORD. He becomes all that you think about, plan for, and serve; He has your all.

Here is the key: you continually turn to the LORD in these areas. The key word is all. Your all continually grows, so you must continually grow by continually turning to the LORD in these three areas. You should never be weaker in anything you do for the LORD the older you get, but you should be stronger in every area the older you get. It is when you turn to the LORD in these three areas continually that He controls your life and can use you to His fullest intentions for which He created you to be.