Have You Ever Been Overwhelmed? Looking at the situations around you and not seeing how you will overcome?
Jehoshaphat found himself there.
In fact, three nations had rallied armies to attack, and they vastly outnumbered him.
I love what he does. He calls all the leaders of the people to the temple to worship God and to seek Him.
Then he prays to God, asking for His help and reminding God of His promises. He ends His prayer with this:
2 Chronicles 20:12 (NIV84) “O 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 upon you.”
“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.” Wow! Humility, worship, and honor.
God responds, He speaks through a prophet and tells them they will not have to fight, He will fight for them.
Again, watch Jehoshaphat’s response.
Chronicles 20:18 (NIV84) “Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord.”
The singers lead the people in loud praise.
Then Jehoshaphat encourages the army, and this is how they advance:
2 Chronicles 20:21-23 (NIV84) “After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:
“Give thanks to the Lord,
for his love endures forever.”
Look what God does:
As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. The men of Ammon and Moab rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.”
So when the Army of Judah arrived, they only found the dead army. It took three days to gather the plunder.
2 Chronicles 20:26 (NIV84) “On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, where they praised the Lord. This is why it is called the Valley of Beracah to this day.”
Beracah means praise. The valley of praise, aptly named. They returned to the temple, and you will never guess what they were doing… Yes, they were praising the Lord.
Here is another Philism: surrender is victory. When we come to the end of ourselves, we are finally in the right place of full dependence on God.
Jehoshaphat leads the people in surrender to God: “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.”
Then, he leads the people in worship to God. God gave a miraculous victory, and they continued to praise and worship Him.
Let’s surrender ourselves to Him . Let’s fall down and worship Him. Let’s lead out in loud praise to our great King. Let’s trust Him and depend on Him to fight for us. And let’s continue to praise the Lord.
