As I read about Jehoshaphat I was really struck by something he prayed. At a time of great crisis, he says to God, ‘we don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you’ (2 Chronicles 20:12). I have actually made that our motto verse for this year in church.
Who knows what the year ahead holds? Who knows what decisions will have to be
made? Who knows what troubles we may
have? There will be plenty of times when
we don’t know what to do. But we have no
reason to fear if we keep our eyes on God!
A
good leader gets people to look to the Bible
Jehoshaphat was king of the southern kingdom,
Judah. I think it is best to say he was
an inconsistent king. However, he
started well. When he came to the throne
he did not consult the Baals. He ignored
the folk religion and superstitions of the day.
Instead he sought God and followed God’s commands. He sent teachers to instruct the people in
God’s Word. God blessed his rule.
A
good leader looks to God to set our agenda
So, I was shocked when I read the beginning of chapter
eighteen. All was going so well under
Jehoshaphat’s rule and then he makes a marriage alliance with Ahab, the king of
the northern kingdom of Israel. Ahab was
not a good king, and Israel was a military and spiritual danger for Judah. Why did he do this? Why is he looking to them for help? Why is not trusting God alone?
Ahab wants Jehoshaphat to join in him war and lines up
a bunch of false-prophets to predict that all will go well. Jehoshaphat does at least insist on
consulting a true prophet. Yet despite
the fact that this prophet tells him it will be a disaster he goes with Ahab to
war. There Ahab dies. Jehoshaphat cries out to God who shows him
mercy. No matter what trouble our
foolish decisions have got us into God is a father who is always calling us
home!
He should have let God set his agenda, not Ahab. Who sets our agenda?
A
good leader sets their eyes on God
Jehoshaphat shows his repentance is genuine by bringing
the people back to God and establishing justice. Now when a crisis comes he knows what to
do. Judah’s historical enemies, the
Moabites and the Ammonites want to make war with him. He admits his utter dependence of God and
prays, ‘we don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you’ (2 Chronicles
20:12). It is not our wisdom or our
strength that will deliver us from evil, it is God.
Look at how God answers him. ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of
this vast army. For the battle is not
yours but God’s’ (20:15b). They simply
praised the Lord, and when they went to meet their enemy they found them
already defeated. All they had to do was
gather the plunder.
We live in light of God’s victory. By his death Jesus has destroyed him who
holds the power of death—that is the devil—and freed us from the fear of death’
(Hebrews 2:14-15). What’s the worst that
could happen this year? Surely the
biggest crisis we could face is our own possible funeral! God’s taken care of it. If you are bound to Christ, you need not fear
condemnation or being deserted by God or even our own death.
Conclusion
Who knows what the year ahead holds? Who knows what decisions will have to be
made? Who knows what troubles we may
have? There will be plenty of times when
we don’t know what to do. But we have no
reason to fear if we keep our eyes on God!
So, our motto verse in Limerick Baptist for the year
ahead is simply this: ‘we don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you’. In particular our eyes are on God’s victory
achieved through Christ crucified.
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