Is it a fair statement to say, you really don’t know what to do here? You don’t know how this is all going to work out. You don’t know how this is ever going to be okay again. You don’t know where this next step is going to lead, but you know if you don’t take this next step you will be stuck here forever and you’ve decided being stuck here isn’t an option.
Good. God doesn’t want you to be stuck here. He has plans for you beyond this problem. He has a destiny for you beyond this dilemma. He has triumph for you beyond this trouble. But God isn’t just waiting on the other side of this. My sister, he is right here with you in this place of not knowing what the heck to do. He is here, and he KNOWS what to do.
In my life, I’m able to look back at my problems and see God was using them to get me out of my own plans and into his. I look back at my dilemmas, the ones that caused all those sleepless nights, and I see how each one led me to a destiny my mind couldn’t even imagine. I look at my troubles in the rear view mirror as I move forward in triumph and I see God was always preparing me. Always.
And, Sis, he’s preparing you. He’s using all of this to bring you to a place where you don’t know what to do, so you fully seek him.
2 Chronicles 20: 12 “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
It’s okay to admit you don’t know what to do. Afterall, this is where God has brought you to seek and find him. I mean really, if you knew exactly what to do next, would you be looking to God? Would you really be seeking his guidance for your next step if you already knew the step and had unshakable confidence in your ability to take it? We would like to think we would still seek God, but the sheer fact that we’re once again in this place of not knowing what to do, proves we can’t be trusted with certainty. We can’t be trusted with plans that always work the way we think they should work. We would forget to look to him.
So, here we are, not knowing what to do, and that’s exactly where we’re supposed to be. Why? So we keep our eyes on him.
I overhead this particular scripture this morning on a podcast, and I had to dig deeper. Who said it? What were the circumstances? And what happened as a result?
Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah is the one who said, “Lord, we do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
He and his people were under attack. Not just one tribe, but three tribes were coming after them. A vast army they knew they could not defeat. They for real did NOT know what to do. Verse 4 says “The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord.”
Yip, that’s what you do in these situations. You come together and you seek help from God. We should stop right there … is that what we’re doing? Or are we divided? Are we waging war in our own camp? Are we battling one another over what to do while the enemy closes in on us? THE PEOPLE CAME TOGETHER TO SEEK HELP FROM THE LORD.
King Johoshaphat stood before his people and called out to God. He willingly admitted, “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 on you.”
What can God do with a people gathered with no clue what to do, but fully seeking him? What can he do when we are powerless to face what is coming against us, but we are seeking his power to proceed?
He can guide us directly into a miracle.
Verse 14: “Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel as he stood in the assembly.”
This was a young man who was there seeking the Lord. Because he was there, the Spirit of God spoke through him. Oh girl, get yourself in position to seek God and be ready to hear from him!
And this is what God spoke through him in verses 15-17: “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.”
This is for someone today, the Spirit of the Lord is saying to you right now, “Go ahead and face this, I WILL BE WITH YOU. Do not be afraid and do not be discouraged because of this news you have received, because of this potential battle ahead, or because of this hardship you find yourself in. THIS BATTLE IS NOT YOURS. THIS IS THE BATTLE OF THE LORD. You will not even have to fight this battle. Go ahead and face this and watch what He is going to do on your behalf.”
I feel that as clearly as I feel my waste band cutting into my tummy after drinking a whole lot of water this morning.
Johoshaphat and his army did not know how to fight this battle, just as you don’t know how to fight your battle. All God needed them to do was to fully seek him, then face it. Face their enemies. Face the issue. Face the problem. And trust that God was indeed with them, and this was a battle they wouldn’t even have to fight.
Verse 18: “Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord.”
Girls, we are given a step by step battle plan here. Are you following? Seek God, worship God, then what? Battle? Go for it? Run all-in with reckless abandon? No, actually, don’t miss the valuable next step.
Verse 20-21: “Early in the morning they set out. 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.'”
Oh my goodness gracious, Jehoshaphat appointed a praise team to go before the army! They led the way with praise!
How many times have you asked someone to pray for you? Well, have you ever asked someone to praise for you? You’re marching into the unknown, you’re facing a battle you know there’s no way you can win, girl appoint a praise team to go out ahead of you!
Call up your girlfriends and say, “Girls, I’m walking into some dark stuff, will you praise God for me today? Will you give thanks to the Lord on my behalf today? Will you do a holy little church clap for me? I’m heading out to go face this and what I really need you to do is go before me and praise God.”
Well holy balls, I have never, ever done that. I’ve enlisted people to worry with me. I’ve gathered people to be on my side before. I’ve vented and ranted and had them tell me I’m right. I’ve had people offer me their pity and sorrow. I’ve had people pray for me. But I have never asked someone to praise God ahead of me!!!!! I’m walking on into this now, and I’m gonna need you to be singing today!
Is this a lightbulb moment for anyone else, or is it just me? Hey, can I praise God before YOU today. Whatever you’re walking into, I want you to know I for real cranked up good old KB & Lacrae’s song “Church Clap” and I went on ahead of you with some praise. My husband walked in to my office where he usually seems me quietly typing away, and instead sees me in a full on break dance. He just turns to our dog and says “your mama crazy”. No baby, I’m praising for some girls walking into some stuff today!
Now here it is, the verse that should bring you to your feet and cause your hands to shoot up in there air. Verse 22: “As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.” AMBUSHES Y’ALL!!!!!! As the praise team went ahead and sang, God sent ambushes against their enemies and full on defeated them!
Verse 24: “When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped.”
What did the people of Judah have to do to win this battle they had zero chance of winning?
1. Seek God
2. Worship God
3. Send in the Praise Team
4. Show up
What can you do today? You can seek God. You can worship God. You can send in the praise team (and hey, if you don’t have anyone that will go before you and praise God, pick me. Seriously, pick me. You find me on social media, send me a message, and I promise you I will go ahead of you and praise God with just the right song. Then girl, you show up!
God has said to you, “Go ahead and face this, I WILL BE WITH YOU. Do not be afraid and do not be discouraged because of this news you have received, because of this potential battle ahead, or because of this hardship you find yourself in. THIS BATTLE IS NOT YOURS. THIS IS THE BATTLE OF THE LORD. You will not even have to fight this battle. Go ahead and face this and watch what He is going to do on your behalf.”
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