Do you turn to God in your times of trouble and despair? What is your response? Is it anguish and frustration? Is it praise and thanksgiving? Do you question God and say, “why me?” These are questions that constantly run through my mind in my time of trials and temptations. As Christians though, we should know that God is waiting to bless us in our valley.
In the second book of Chronicles there is a wonderful story of King Jehoshaphat. And there came a time in his rule that the many enemies of the nation of Israel came upon them to war against them. It was like people from the wood work just came against them for no apparent reason. Reading the story reminds me of the Lord of the Rings trilogy when all the evil forces came against the Frodo and his friends (I’ve said before how much I love movies!) Anyway, King Jehoshaphat was faced with the dilemma of having to face such a great and large enemy. There were hundreds of thousands of soldiers prepared to war against the little kingdom of Judah. As soon as the king heard this news he ran to God in prayer and fasting. He even demanded of the entire nation to do the same. He is an excellent example of how we should run to God in our time of need. He began to pray and cry out to God for deliverance. He totally put the situation into God’s hands and ended the request with confidence of God’s deliverance. Did he have doubt in his mind? Possibly. But his actions after his prayer confirmed that his trust was in his God. He began to praise God. Was it for the anticipated outcome of the situation? Possibly. But I think he intimates the proper follow-up response to our petitions to God. I spent one morning this week just praising God in songs and hymns on my morning commute. I noticed the refreshment that it delivered to my spirit. It was a perfect follow-up to my morning prayer. Well back to the story. God ends up coming through huge for King Jehoshapat and the Israelites. So much so that when they reached the valley to fight the battle against the foe that outnumbered them so greatly, that they found corpses on the battlefield. God had turned the enemy against each other in confusion and while Israel was praising the enemy had been killing each other off. God literally kills our problems off while we commit to praising and thanking him for deliverance from a particular situation. By the time the Israelites reached the valley they were left to collect the tremendous spoil that was left among their dead adversaries. They spent days collecting the spoil because the army was so great. It is something how God can bless us in the valley if we praise him on the way!
God help me trust you that you will work out my situation for the good. Help me to bring all my problems to you when my trials seem too great to go through. Amen.
Suggested Scripture 2 Chronicles 20:1-30