Lord, My Eyes Are On You
After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.
. . . Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek Him.
Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the LORD . . . and said: "LORD, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land . . . and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?
. . . But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. 2 Chronicles 20:1-12
. . . Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek Him.
Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the LORD . . . and said: "LORD, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land . . . and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?
. . . But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. 2 Chronicles 20:1-12
A single war can leave a nation totally devastated. Jehoshaphat was rightfully alarmed when he was told that a vast army was closing in on Judah to attack it. Judah was facing the prospect of war from a vastly superior foe. The response of King Jehoshaphat has many useful lessons that we can apply to our own lives when we are faced with an overwhelming situation against which we feel totally dwarfed. How do we respond when threatened with a "warfare" situation?
First: Jehoshaphat was alarmed at the prospect of the possible destruction they faced. He was alarmed but he did not throw a pity party. He took some action to rectify the situation. We cannot deny the fact that, naturally, some situations in life can alarm us. A sudden job loss, an unexpected financial reversal, a threatening illness, a bad doctor's report, a sudden "attack" on our jobs, etc., all these can drive us into a panic mode. But we must not stay in that panic mode forever. We must take some action. We must actively seek divine counsel.
Second: Jehoshaphat inquired of the LORD. The king was rightly alarmed at his helplessness but he sought counsel from the all-powerful God who had the ability to do something about his situation. Knowing the power of our God, we should run to Him when we are faced with alarming situations because He is the only one who can pull us through whatever terrifying thing looms over us.
Third: The entire nation of Judah came together to seek the LORD. The power of unity can never be overstated. When a nation, a family, a marriage, a home, a business, a church or community is faced with a threatening situation, a united approach is a sine qua non; otherwise, certain destruction is almost assured. Scripture makes it clear that a house divided against itself cannot stand.
Fourth: Jehoshaphat called out to God in prayer -- You are God in heaven; you are all-powerful and you rule over all nations; the blessing that the enemy is seeking to take away from us was an inheritance you gave to our forefathers and us; we covenanted to call upon you in situations of threats and calamity; the people to whom you asked us to show kindness years ago are now repaying us with evil by seeking to exterminate us from our blessings! LORD, arise and defend us! We are powerless against this vast army; "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you." Jehoshaphat called upon God in prayer. We should bring details of the threatening situation before our righteous God. We should cast all our cares upon Him in prayer.
May God come to your aid when threatened with overwhelming situations. May God be your defense as you lift up your eyes unto Him for deliverance. May God answer you in your time of trouble. May God subdue every threatening foe and grant you deliverance.
First: Jehoshaphat was alarmed at the prospect of the possible destruction they faced. He was alarmed but he did not throw a pity party. He took some action to rectify the situation. We cannot deny the fact that, naturally, some situations in life can alarm us. A sudden job loss, an unexpected financial reversal, a threatening illness, a bad doctor's report, a sudden "attack" on our jobs, etc., all these can drive us into a panic mode. But we must not stay in that panic mode forever. We must take some action. We must actively seek divine counsel.
Second: Jehoshaphat inquired of the LORD. The king was rightly alarmed at his helplessness but he sought counsel from the all-powerful God who had the ability to do something about his situation. Knowing the power of our God, we should run to Him when we are faced with alarming situations because He is the only one who can pull us through whatever terrifying thing looms over us.
Third: The entire nation of Judah came together to seek the LORD. The power of unity can never be overstated. When a nation, a family, a marriage, a home, a business, a church or community is faced with a threatening situation, a united approach is a sine qua non; otherwise, certain destruction is almost assured. Scripture makes it clear that a house divided against itself cannot stand.
Fourth: Jehoshaphat called out to God in prayer -- You are God in heaven; you are all-powerful and you rule over all nations; the blessing that the enemy is seeking to take away from us was an inheritance you gave to our forefathers and us; we covenanted to call upon you in situations of threats and calamity; the people to whom you asked us to show kindness years ago are now repaying us with evil by seeking to exterminate us from our blessings! LORD, arise and defend us! We are powerless against this vast army; "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you." Jehoshaphat called upon God in prayer. We should bring details of the threatening situation before our righteous God. We should cast all our cares upon Him in prayer.
May God come to your aid when threatened with overwhelming situations. May God be your defense as you lift up your eyes unto Him for deliverance. May God answer you in your time of trouble. May God subdue every threatening foe and grant you deliverance.
Prayer: Father, you are my source of hope, strength, and defense. My eyes are on you and you alone. Amen.