2 Chronicles 35:18 – And there was no passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did all the kings of Israel keep such a passover as Josiah kept, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel that were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 35:19 – In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah was this passover kept.

Hello readers, it’s winter time where I live. That means short days, it’s basically dark when my work day is finished, and seemingly not enough time to write blogs! But I’m back today with a new one. It’s a pretty simple thought today, but hopefully a helpful one to think about from the word of God. Do it even if noone else is doing it. Do it even if noone else did it. Josiah did it like noone else did it. What am I talking about? I’m talking about king Josiah, who was eight years old when he began to reign.

Josiah took over as a child from his wicked dad. A lot of people compromise on God and what’s right and make excuses because of family or their circumstances in life, but Josiah didn’t. Josiah chose not to follow in his dad’s footsteps. He inherited a nation in sin and rebellion to God. A nation ruined by its own corruption.

But it just goes to show, you’re never too young to serve God. In fact, the Bible says to remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth. When you’re young, before you’re hardened by a life of sin, and when your heart is tender, when you’re in the flower of your age, they’re the best years to set your face towards God’s holy temple. It’s not a waste to redeem your best years by giving them to God who gave you them. Time is never wasted when given to God.

Josiah is quite a king in the Bible. He made repairing the temple top priority when he came to reign. He had the wisdom as a child and young man and king to see that God was the solution to his nation. He recognized the problem and the solution. The root cause of the ruin of our life is our sin against God. Let’s get back to honoring God. Let’s get the order right.

Josiah sends to fix the temple, and they return with a book for him to read. Not just any book. But the book of the law. God’s book, they gave him the Bible. Here, read this, king. As Christians we should be giving others the book, because the book is what will make the difference.

And read it he did. And unlike many of us, Josiah put a lot of stock in God’s word. When we are talking about doing it like noone else did it, just you having an attitude of reverence to God’s word puts you automatically in the extreme minority. Not many people believe the Bible. If you just believe the Bible, if you believe in the word of God, you’re already on a road that doesn’t have too much traffic on it.

The Bible says Josiah kept the passover like noone else did before him or after him. That’s quite a statement. His commitment, his devotion, his obedience, his reverence to the passover he kept all stood apart from everyone else before and after. And I’ve been thinking about this. What he did was exceptional, but what really made him exceptional was that nobody else went as far as him in obeying and honouring God. Not many people have, do or will do. You can either settle for far less, comforting yourself that nobody else is going all the way with God, or you can purpose in your heart like Daniel to obey and honour God and do it even if nobody else is doing it.

So often in life the little we can do or are doing seems like nothing. Our lives, what we do and don’t do, the decisions we make, it all seems so insignificant. But the truth is, if I simply be faithful to God, I may be living life like nobody else is. Very few people are simply reading their Bible, believing it, obeying it and wholly following the Lord. You do that, and you’re doing it like noone else is doing it.

So often we measure ourselves against others, and we find justification for our lives based of what others are doing or not doing. So often because nobody else is doing it, we don’t either. But that ought not to be so. There were a lot of Hebrew boys who didn’t do what Daniel did. Daniel and his three friends did it like nobody else did it in Babylon.

Simply repenting, believing, being born again, abiding in Christ, walking in the Spirit… you know that most people will never be or do that. Less people read the Bible than you think. Less people believe it than you think. Even less people obey it. Not many people want to honour God with their lives. Not many people truly put God and truth first. What if nobody else is following the Lord? What will you do?

Our simple faith and obedience goes a lot further than we think. Jesus told his disciples to watch and pray. Pretty simple command. But he came back and found them fast asleep. Not many people are simply watching and praying. If you just did that, you’d be doing Christianity like nobody else is doing it. The reason why so many churches and “Christianity” is like it is, because everyone is just doing like the other in departing from truth, in rebelling against God, in loving the world. Not many are doing it like nobody else is doing it. It’s like it is because not many have been watching and praying. If everyone is asleep, and most are, you simply watching and praying is pretty exceptional.

Was Josiah really that special? It wasn’t that obedience itself was so exceptional, it was just exceptional because nobody else did it like he did it. Not many people before him or after him believed the book and whole heartedly obeyed God and committed their lives to serving and honouring the Lord. A lot before and after him only went part way with God. They honoured God here and there… but the high places were left or whatever. They obeyed God for a bit and in parts, but they really didn’t fully follow God. Simply determining to honour God in word and deed, and actually doing it made Josiah exceptional, because so few people did it.

Jesus Christ talked about the strait gate, and the narrow way and few there be that find it. Not many people believe the Bible. Not many people obey God’s word in their lives. If you decide to by faith follow Jesus Christ, you’ll be like a Josiah, you’ll be doing it like noone else is doing it.

Maybe all those people you look up to, your peers, or people around you professing Christ… maybe none of them are really following Jesus Christ. Maybe none of them are reading their Bible or living in obedience to it. Maybe none of them are praying. Maybe less people are faithful than you think. Maybe their motives are wrong, maybe their lives are full of sin and rebellion that you can’t see. Does this sound like you? Or will you go further? Will you launch out into the deep? Will you go to the other side? Will you do it even if nobody else is or will do it.

A life of obedience to God’s word, just a little life that honours God, will make great waves in eternity. Joseph obeyed God one day in a land far away as a slave, and that story has been read for thousands of years as we all gasp at the virtue and honour and dedication to God that this man had. He did it like noone else did it. So many others would’ve slept with Potiphar’s wife, but he didn’t.

You can either look at others, and just do what others are doing, or you can be single eyed on Jesus Christ, and do life like nobody else is doing it. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. It doesn’t matter what everyone else is doing, maybe none of them will truly follow God… what are you doing with your life? Just because nobody else is doing it doesn’t mean it’s ok that you don’t. Why settle for less in your one shot at life? You can believe and obey God, even if noone else is doing it. Do what’s right, it does matter. Just simply getting saved and putting the Lord Jesus Christ first in your life will make you exceptional, and your life will count.

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