A couple of weeks ago, we talked about practicing spiritual disciplines and how practice can help us play the “game” of life better. Even though that is a simple concept, we all still struggle with it. And when we fall short in our practice, we often face fear, worry, and anxiety.
We can’t eliminate fear, but we can work on controlling it, which we’ll discuss today with a story about King Jehoshaphat from 2 Chronicles 20. It says that Jehoshaphat was a good king and “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord”. This book begins with three large armies coming to attack King Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah. His advisors told him “A vast army is coming against you from Edom…..”. We are told that he was alarmed, but he didn’t panic. Instead, he “resolved to inquire of the Lord and he proclaimed a fast for all of Judah.” So, his first step was to turn his eyes to God and seek guidance from Him.
The next thing he did showed far more faith than most of us have. Verse 21 says that 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.”
The king sent singers to stand in front of the army as a sign that he believed his God, the one true God, was more powerful than any army he could send into battle. And God honored the king’s faith by causing the attacking armies to fight each other until every one of them was dead. The story goes on to say that it took three days for Jehoshaphat’s men to collect all the plunder. And finally, verse 26 says that they assembled and praised the Lord.
So the formula they followed was:
- Face a seemingly insurmountable challenge
- Inquire of the Lord (and let Him fight the battle)
- Collect the plunder/blessings that God provided because of their faith
- Praise the Lord
All of us fight battles, and sometimes the odds seem insurmountable. When you fight your battles, is your first instinct to go to God for His guidance? Do you focus your praise on him no matter how tough the circumstance? That’s something that all of us struggle with, so to help us improve in this area, here are a few questions to think about.
- What are some examples of modern-day “battles” that we face?
- When faced with seemingly insurmountable odds, is your first instinct to turn it over to God and praise Him, or do fear and anxiety creep in?
- What are some examples of “plunder” that we can collect by praising God foremost, even in the face of our most challenging circumstances?
- Do you think God allows us to face certain challenges so we will be drawn closer to Him?
- Would it be effective to plan ahead before we find ourselves facing challenges? If so, what are some proactive steps we can take before we are in the battle?
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