God Speaking

“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.”

(2 Chronicles 20: 12)

I have always loved the incredible messages contained in the stories of the Old Testament and am constantly amazed how relevant they can still be for us in this present day. I believe that the Old Testament records some of the most powerful prayers found in Scripture and are models for us to follow when troubles of any kind loom in our lives.

Just recently I was studying the story of King Jehoshaphat found in 2 Chronicles chapters, 19, 20 He was a king who feared and honoured the Lord, his training of honest judges in 2 Chronicles 19: 4 – 10 should be part of the training for our judiciary system, (worth reading) but the part of the story I love is when this good king is informed that a vast army is advancing towards Jerusalem and he fears the worst is about to happen. What does he do? Rally the Troops? Try to find some allies? Give in to despair? No!

He gathers the people together, goes to the temple and in front of his people places all his fears in front of the Lord. He begins by praising the Almighty God, a great lesson for us, as we recognise the mighty powerful God who loves us, we become aware of his strength and with great relief we can then surrender our frailty/ our fears/ our human weaknesses. Jehoshaphat then acknowledges that when God’s children call out to him, they know with confidence that he will hear and save them.

“If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgement, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.” (2 Chronicles 20: 9)

He ends the prayer with a sweet childish admittance of not knowing what to do, but is determined to keep focused on the Lord. We are often tempted to tell God exactly what we would like him to do, so this is again a beautiful gentle reminder of letting go of our will in times of trouble and to just remember to keep our eyes on the strength.

“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” (2 Chronicles 20: 12)

Our lives are very different from that of Jehoshaphat, but when ugly circumstances arise in what ever form, fear can overtake us and we forget the great source of strength we have and begin to think we have to fight our battles in any way we can. No wonder I love this passage. Just read what God says, through a prophet, to Jehoshaphat;

“This is what the Lord says to you: Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” (2 Chronicles 20:15)

We often think we have to be strong when those ugly times come unexpectedly, or one after the other, but the message I see in this story is that yes we have to boldly come into the Lord’s presence asking for his strength, but then we take great comfort in the fact that it is not us fighting the battle, but the Lord.

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4: 16 (K.J.V.))

P.S. Read the great ending of the story 2 Chronicles 20: 1- 30

God upheld his side of the bargain and won the battle for Jehoshaphat!