“We don’t
know what to do, but our eyes are on you” (2Chr 20:12).
Jehoshaphat
uttered this prayer when faced with annihilation by opposing armies. His
enemies were so powerful he was confident that his soldiers didn’t stand a
chance against them unless God intervened. Though he felt afraid as he realistically
assessed the seriousness of the situation, he resolved to put his trust in
God’s sovereign rule over all the kingdoms and praised Him for His greatness,
love and power (2Chr 20:6).
Realistic Assessment
Like
Jehoshaphat, we have to face the reality of our circumstances in order to see
our great need for God’s help and ask for his provision and deliverance. God
isn’t overwhelmed or frustrated by the scope of our problems. In fact, He takes
pleasure in coming to our aid and cares about all the details of our lives (Ps
37:23). He’s not just concerned about the big stuff life like wars and
kingdoms, but promises that He’s numbered the hairs on our head and knows when
a seemingly insignificant sparrow falls to the ground.
We often assess
the difficulty we’re in with a sense of shame and fear – shame that we’re not
able to rescue ourselves and fear that God will not help us. Our tendency, like
Adam and Eve’s, is to hide and try to use our own resources to solve the
problem. But we never have to.
God has
provided everything we need in Christ to overcome. If we’re in Christ, we’re adopted
into His family (Eph 1:5), counted as righteous and at peace with God (Rom
5:1-2). We can confidently come before Him and “receive grace and mercy in our
time of need” (Heb 4:16). Since God’s wrath has been forever removed from those
in Christ, we have His undeserved favor, mercy and love (Mic 7:18), so much so
that He calls us His daughters and sons (1Jn 3:1). We are His beloved!
Resolve to Trust and Praise Him
Sometimes
God delivers us with sudden victories like He did with Jehoshaphat and his
army. The opposition falls before us, toppling like dominoes. Doors that were
once slammed shut are flung open by His mighty hand. In the blink of an eye
hope springs to life where despair once dwelt, and we stand in awe of God’s
unstoppable power. Other times His deliverance comes more gradually in ways
we’d never even considered. The armies of life blast through and plunder
everything in sight, leaving us with sparse supplies of joy and a sense of
confusion. We’re tempted to think that God hasn’t heard us or that He doesn’t
care, but His promises guarantee the opposite.
Vital to living
by faith, especially in hard times, is remembering His Word and praising Him for
those promises, in Christ, to do everything He said (2 Cor 1:20). Our praise
isn’t necessarily that God will quickly eliminate our current struggle, because
many times our greatest blessings come from standing firm in Christ through the
hardest battles. But our praise flows from hearts that recognize His absolute,
unchanging goodness. We can be certain that every one of His thoughts and
actions toward us are always good, and that He will work out our current
situation, and all future trials, for our ultimate good and the glory of His
name (1Jn 1:5, Rom 8:28).
This
commitment to stand firmly on the foundation of God’s unchanging character and
all-powerful love, enables us to face the unknown with faith that He alone is
in control. The battle we’re in may end quickly or rage on for much longer than
we wanted or expected. Either way, we do not have to give way to fear or dread.
Like Jehoshaphat, we can worship our Father God with confident, unashamed
hearts, knowing that He has heard every prayer and will act on our behalf at
just the right minute (Ps 116:1).
