"And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever."
2 Chronicles 20-21
This is part of a great story where Jehoshaphat is helping his people return to the Lord. He stops the idol worship that his grandfather instituted, he sends out teachers to teach people the scriptures, and he sets a righteous example as the leader of the Kingdom of Judah, which they haven't had for a couple of generations leading up to this.
In this part of the story, three other kingdoms have declared war against his, and his people aren't even close to strong enough to face them. Making an amazingly good choice, he and his people fast and pray for God's help. God tells them through his prophet Jahaziel that the battle is his, not theirs (verse 15) and that they won't need to fight (verse 17), but to still go out against them.
What I find the very most amazing about all of this is not necessarily the miraculous answer to the prayer and fasting, although that is truly amazing. I find it more amazing that Jehoshaphat and all of his people not only believed the Lord, but had enough faith to walk out in front of the armies anyway, with no plan other than God saving them, and that they stood forth to sing and to praise rather than to battle.
I think that something similar happens in our lives sometimes. The Lord answers our prayers and tells us to take a course of action, and when we get the answer it seems clear and we know what we need to do... but then, instead of sticking with and trusting the Lord and following through on what he asked us to do, we start to get scared and doubt, and think maybe we should, err, try something else, or at least maybe hedge our bets.
Today, let's work on being more like Jehoshaphat and his people. Let's turn to the Lord when we need help (and always), and let's trust him and follow through with what he asks us to do. He loves us and he wants to help, but we need to have enough faith to follow him. Let's praise rather than battle. :)
And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever."
2 Chronicles 20-21
This is part of a great story where Jehoshaphat is helping his people return to the Lord. He stops the idol worship that his grandfather instituted, he sends out teachers to teach people the scriptures, and he sets a righteous example as the leader of the Kingdom of Judah, which they haven't had for a couple of generations leading up to this.
In this part of the story, three other kingdoms have declared war against his, and his people aren't even close to strong enough to face them. Making an amazingly good choice, he and his people fast and pray for God's help. God tells them through his prophet Jahaziel that the battle is his, not theirs (verse 15) and that they won't need to fight (verse 17), but to still go out against them.
What I find the very most amazing about all of this is not necessarily the miraculous answer to the prayer and fasting, although that is truly amazing. I find it more amazing that Jehoshaphat and all of his people not only believed the Lord, but had enough faith to walk out in front of the armies anyway, with no plan other than God saving them, and that they stood forth to sing and to praise rather than to battle.
I think that something similar happens in our lives sometimes. The Lord answers our prayers and tells us to take a course of action, and when we get the answer it seems clear and we know what we need to do... but then, instead of sticking with and trusting the Lord and following through on what he asked us to do, we start to get scared and doubt, and think maybe we should, err, try something else, or at least maybe hedge our bets.
Today, let's work on being more like Jehoshaphat and his people. Let's turn to the Lord when we need help (and always), and let's trust him and follow through with what he asks us to do. He loves us and he wants to help, but we need to have enough faith to follow him. Let's praise rather than battle. :)
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