In her Proverbs 31 daily devotional today, Lysa TerKeurst presented King Jehoshaphat and how he was afraid and yet “resolved to inquire of the LORD” when faced with the army of three countries who have formed an alliance to come after the smaller army of Judah. You can find the story in 2 Chronicles 20.
I love the point that Lysa develops regarding the fact that Jehoshaphat was afraid and yet resolved to inquire of the LORD. What an impact that can have on our lives when we choose to do the same! In looking at the chapter in 2 Chronicles though, I was amazed to see an entire process that this king followed that can be so applicable to our lives.
Obviously, our context is far from his, as most of us our not likely facing a physical enemy with the odds not in our favor; however, there are spiritual principles that apply to our lives today.
What do I see? This could be an entire teaching session, but here’s the short version: The king was afraid but set his face to seek the LORD, then he prayed and God answered, the people responded in obedience, when God took out the enemy for them, they responded with praise.
God may not always clear out the enemy before us, but He absolutely will respond to us, whether it is with His peace, with comfort, encouragement, with a sense of His presence and power . . . and sometimes, He’ll just go before and destroy our enemy!
The details . . .
- When faced with an overwhelming situation, Jehoshaphat “set his face to seek the LORD” (v3 ESV)
- All those around him also “came to seek the LORD” (v4)
- The king stood before his people and prayed to God: acknowledging who He is and what He has done for them and then making their request of Him, acknowledging their powerlessness in this situation (vv5-12)
- In response, God had a message for them: “Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s! (v15) “Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you.” (v17)
- God gave them instructions of when and where to go. In those instructions, He said, “You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf.” (v17)
- Jehoshaphat’s response is one that I want to have: he bowed his head with his face to the ground; all Judah also “fell down before the LORD, worshiping the LORD.” The Levites praised God “with a very loud voice”! (v19)
- As they went out the next morning, the king told his people, “Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be established” (v20) and then he assigned various of them to sing and praise God as they went. As the people did this, God set an ambush against the army coming against His people and they ended up destroying each other. By the time Judah arrived on the scene, the battle was already won!
- The king and his army gathered again and blessed the LORD for what He had done (v26)
Denise Travanti 