If I could have any superpower, it would be time travel, the ability to rewind, redo, or pause a moment in time. I could go back and fix mistakes I made, maybe head to Vegas and bet on sports games, skip past the hard moments, or stay a little longer in the good times with the people I love. The possibilities are endless. Of course, time doesn’t work that way. It always moves forward. At least for us…
But there’s a wild moment in 2 Kings chapter 20 where time actually doesn’t move forward, but backward. “That’s impossible,” you might say. But let’s read what the Bible says.
Hezekiah, the king of Judah, was lying in bed, deathly ill, and was told by the prophet Isaiah that he was going to die soon. Even God Himself said, “Set your house in order,” because this was the end of the road (2 Kings 20:1).
However, Hezekiah didn’t just roll over and accept his fate. He turned his face to the wall and prayed, “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly (2 Kings 20:3).
Before Isaiah even left the palace, God told him to go back and deliver a new message, “I’ve heard your prayer. I’ve seen your tears. I will heal you” (2 Kings 20:5). Hezekiah heard this message from Isaiah, then asked for a sign proving that God really meant it.
God gave him a choice. The shadow on the stairs could move forward ten steps or backward ten steps. Forward would be normal. Forward happens every day. But backward? That’s impossible. That’s something straight out of a sci-fi movie.
Hezekiah chose the impossible, for time to rewind and the shadow to go backward. The crazy part? God did it. “The prophet Isaiah called on the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz” (2 Kings 20:11).
This story shows us that God is a God who can reverse what seems final. When the relationship seems dead, when it feels like your best years are behind you, when the dream you once had seems to have faded away, God can reverse the shadow. He is not bound by our human logic or timeline.
James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” This doesn’t mean God will give us everything we want, when we want it. But it does mean that when we come to Him with sincerity, faith, and persistence, our prayers have the power to move heaven. They can shift situations, open doors, and revive what seems dead.
Jesus was dead for three days, and then God did the impossible, He raised Him back to life. If He can reverse shadows, part seas, and raise the dead, how much more will He do for His children who earnestly pray to Him?
So today, remember that no matter how impossible or final things feel right now, God specializes in bringing life out of death and hope out of despair.
The Bigger Picture: God can reverse the shadow and supernaturally bring to life what seems dead.
The Bigger Picture 