photo #6758634

"FAITH AMID LIFE'S CRISIS." "Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi.And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD." (2 Chronicles 20:2-4)Now, this 20th chapter of 2 Chronicles is a life-changing moment in the reign of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. Faced with a vast enemy force, Jehoshaphat turns to the Lord in prayer and fasting, leading his people in seeking the Lord's guidance. It is a wonderful testament to the power of faith, prayer, and obedience to God’s command.In spite of king Jehoshaphat's fear at hearing this news, he knew what to do in time of trouble. Instead of running to his generals, he "set himself to seek the LORD." When people are alarmed with fear, they will run first to "where THEIR trust is." But Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast, and the people in Judah came together to seek God.There is a wonderful lesson found here for all of us to learn in seeking the Lord first. People often like to put their heads together in some sort of a think tank to come up with a solution to their problems. Sometimes they go high tailing it to some friend, or texting them, or worse yet, they spill their guts by asking for advice from the hundreds of counsellors on Facebook just waiting in the weeds to give their advice.Others may run to the local bookstore and grab some bestseller authored by a TV preacher on, "How to Deal with Trouble when Trouble Troubles You." But what we need to do is to be resolved to inquire of the Lord first by prayer and seek His answers found in the Book of Books, because folks, that is "where OUR trust is."Jehoshaphat led them in a prayer in which he laid the situation before God. He declared that Power belonged to God (v. 6). He confessed their helplessness and boldly declared that their eyes were now looking upon God (v. 12). Then they stood before the Lord with their wives and children and waited upon God (v. 13).Friends, what an example for us today! The very thing we need to learn from this account is to live by that faith we profess to have and seek the Lord first with our eyes wide open looking to Him for deliverance when those various troubles come our way trying to pull us down.