Day: August 24, 2015

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Remembering God’s Faithfulness

25th August

“O God our God, did you not drive out those who lived in this land when Israel arrived? And did you not give this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham?……Whenever we are faced with any calamity such as war, plague, or famine, we can come to stand in your presence ….We can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear us.”

2 Chronicles 20:7-9

Remembering God’s faithfulness in times of trouble is a key way to knowing that, in His faithfulness and mercy, He will protect and watch over us as He has promised. God is faithful. Period. There is never a time in history nor will there ever be, when God has stopped being faithful. He is faithful in our weakness and even when we don’t deserve it.

Jehoshaphat, although a God fearing man, previously had partnered with King Ahab (a not so Godly man) of Israel. Because of this bad allegiance, when King Ahab and King Jehoshaphat went to war together (against the will of God), not only did they loose the war but King Ahab also lost his life. God was greatly grieved that Jehoshaphat has not listened to Him and many people needlessly died on the battle field. Yet even still, God showed mercy once again to Jehoshaphat, rescued him and forgave Him.

However, unlike King Ahab, Jehoshaphat completely had full trust in His merciful God. He completely trusted Him to save their nation because of God’s faithfulness throughout their history and because God has promised them the land they were living in. He knew that if they cried out, God would hear.

When we are faced with situations where the outcome is out of our hands, we should not try to fix it on our own, but completely surrender it to God, knowing that just as He has helped us in the past, so He will continue to do in the future. Leaning on God’s promises and faithfulness in the past gives us a solid foundation to trust Him with our future. If the road ahead is unclear, trust God even more and let His light direct your steps.

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King Jehoshaphat’s Response To Trouble

24th August

“Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the Lord for guidance. He also ordered everyone in Judah to begin fasting. So people came from all the towns of Judah came to Jerusalem to seek the Lord’s help.”

2 Chronicles 20:3-4

Throughout the Old Testament we read of good kings that followed God’s laws and honoured Him, and bad kings that set their hearts to worship false idols and form alliances with pagan kingdoms. Today’s story features King Jehoshaphat, a good king. He did make some foolish errors in his time, but was remembered for his good works and his deep fear and love for God. In fact so great was the favour of the Lord on Jehoshaphat’s life, that enemy kingdoms started to fear Judah.

However, there were some enemies that didn’t fear his kingdom, the Moabites, Ammonites and the Meunites. These enemies declared war on Judah and when news reached Jehoshaphat’s ears, fear filled him to the very core. This was no small enemy but an army of hundreds and thousands, hence Jehoshaphat’s reaction.

Yet what was his response? You would expect a God-fearing King to say ‘prepare yourself troops, eat well, get ready for war and do not fear because God is with us‘. Yet he doesn’t do that at all. In fact, he does the opposite. He calls a fast and gets everyone to pray. Why? Because he knew that they could not defeat this enemy without God. He fell to his knees, along with his kingdom, crying out to God to lead and guide them. He re-called all the good things that God had done for them and remembered God’s faithfulness to their nation. Furthermore he humbled himself in complete helplessness knowing that there was nothing he could do in his own strength to win this war…“We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help.”

What is our reaction when faced with troubles or situations out of our hands? Do we continue to prepare and try to ‘sort it out’ by ourselves, or do we completely surrender in helpless submission to God, crying out for His help?