In the last blog post we began to look at the prayer of king Jehoshaphat. In this post we will look at the remainder of that prayer. Her was the beginning of that prayer:
5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD before the new court, 6 and he said, "O LORD, the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens ? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations ? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You. 7 "Did You not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever ? 8 "They have lived in it, and have built You a sanctuary there for Your name, saying, 9 'Should evil come upon us, the sword, or judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You (for Your name is in this house ) and cry to You in our distress, and You will hear and deliver us.' 2nd Chronicles 20:5-9
Here is the remainder of that prayer:
10 "Now behold, the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt (they turned aside from them and did not destroy them), 11 see how they are rewarding us by coming to drive us out from Your possession which You have given us as an inheritance. 12 "O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You."
2nd Chronicles 20:10-12
In verses 10 and 11 Jehoshaphat is telling the LORD what the problem is. He is letting Him know the trouble that is going on. Did you notice how many verses it took before he got to the problem? This is a good example to follow, when you have time. If your car is sliding on the ice, all you have time for is a,"Jesus help me". But when we have more time it is good to spend time reminding yourself how great God is, the ways He has come through for you in the past. This will help you to focus on God instead of the problem. Those were all things discussed in the last blog post.
In verse 12 he mentions that they are powerless before the great multitude coming against them. Isn't that how we feel against some of the problems that we face? We feel powerless. Not only do we feel powerless, we know we are powerless against those problems unless God helps. That is where Jehoshaphat is at in his situation.
On top of that, Jehoshaphat admits that they don't know what to do. Again, isn't that how we feel at times with some of the stuff we have to face in life? We feel powerless and we don't know what to do. Even though that is a tough situation to be in, and none of us enjoy it. It is in those times where we are humble. Most of the time we feel like we can take care of our problems ourselves. But every now and then we have situations that humble us. Situations where we are reminded that we are not as powerful as we thought we were. If only we could keep that attitude of humility when things are going good.
In the midst of feeling powerless and not knowing what to do, it leads Jehoshaphat to say these words,'For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You."
There is the key. When those unexpected events come up in life, it is good to keep our eyes upon God. It is ok to acknowledge we feel powerless and don't know what to do. But just remember to keep your eyes on God. Look to Him for help. Don't trust in yourself and don't look for a quick fix. As we keep our eyes upon Him, He will direct us.
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Troy
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