“And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall
deliver them from the wicked, And save them, because they trust in Him.”—Psalm 37:40
Have you ever felt totally helpless? Can you remember
facing a situation or emergency in which you were powerless? It’s a sobering experience for anyone. Even people who claim to be wholly dependent
on God, still like to feel as if they have some control over their
circumstances.
Jehoshaphat faced a moment like that. “It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat. Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi). And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord” (2 Chronicles 20: 1-4).
The good king was
confronted with dangerous news. Three different armies had joined forces to
destroy Israel. As he listened to the
report, “a great multitude” of attackers were already on their way. What was
the king’s response? Verse 3 tells us he
was “afraid.” That makes perfect sense. He no doubt felt powerless. But, even in that moment of helplessness, he knew exactly what to
do. Scripture does not say, "Jehoshaphat was
afraid and ran away” or “he was afraid but charged headlong into battle.” No, the Bible tells us that “Jehoshaphat was
afraid and turned his attention to seek the Lord”. That was the perfect response to a helpless situation. The king knew this was
not the time to give up, nor was it the time to take action motivated by fear.
Instead, he did the only wise thing he could: he prayed. More than that, he called
on others to pray. And suddenly, the entire situation changed,
because God had been brought into a hopeless
situation.
When we feel helpless, the first word out of our mouth should be “Father.” From then on, helplessness is not an issue, because God—the Perfect Help will provide what we need.
Prayer—Father I turn my
attention to You in the time of trouble and I put my trust in Your Word. Father Your Word says that You uphold all
things by the Word of Your power and I trust You to uphold me in this
hour. Lord I need Your help in this
__________________situation. I ask that
You wake up skilled intercessors to pray in my behalf and together we will see
the Salvation of our Lord, in Jesus Name.
Amen.
