But Our Eyes Are Upon You

O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.

2 Chronicles 20:12

“...But our eyes are upon You.” Wow.

Hidden away in 2 Chronicles is an amazing story involving King Jehoshaphat who, as it turns out, knew something incredible that, if applied, could radically change our lives. Chapter 20 brings us to a critical moment in the leader's life and then wastes no time laying out a detailed how-to list of what to do when our lives are falling apart, when we’re facing the impossible, or when we’re head on with a situation that reveals just how inadequate, apart from God, we really are. 

Let’s get started!

One day Jehoshaphat's men came to him to tell him that a huge group of enemies was planning to come against him. He was under attack. How Jehoshaphat handles this terrifying and unexpected announcement is absolutely incredible and, as I said earlier, a beautiful recipe for peace, and an amazing example for us to learn from when we are in the middle of life’s storms. 

Let’s learn together from the following 5 steps Jehoshaphat took when he came face to face with the threat of life as he knew it falling apart, with all peace being threatened, all while he was full of fear.

1. He turned his attention to God.

Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the Lord; and he proclaimed a period of fasting throughout Judah. 

2 Chronicles 20:3

As soon as Jehoshaphat heard the news, he felt afraid, but then immediately something incredible happened… he “turned his attention” to God. He took his eyes off the problem he was presented with—the one screaming for his attention and emotions—and “turned” his eyes from his circumstance to the only One he believed could change it. 

I wish I was faster at this, don’t you? How often do we keep laser-focused on the pain we’re in, the hurt we feel, or the circumstances we’re facing, forgetting the One who holds all things together, the only One who can work all things for our good? 

2. He sought God.

So Judah gathered together to seek help from the Lord; they even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the Lord.

2 Chronicles 20:4

While turning our eyes from our problem to God is the first step, we can’t stop there. Jehoshaphat was a leader, a warrior, and he did not face this problem passively—first, he turned his attention to God and then he sought God. 

The word “sought” is the Hebrew word baqash (Strong's #H1245) meaning to beg, consult, inquire, investigate, plead, to request. This isn’t a simple thought of, “Well, I hope God shows me what to do.” This is a conscious choice of active participation. Jehoshaphat did not rely on his own understanding—He begged, consulted, inquired, investigated, pleaded, and requested the wisdom of God in the situation he was facing. He sought God before he did anything else, before he took any action of his own, and according to verse 3, he did it despite feeling afraid.

3. He remembered God’s past faithfulness.

…and he said, “Lord, God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You. Did You not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land from Your people Israel, and give it to the descendants of Your friend Abraham forever? They have lived in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, “If disaster comes upon us, the sword, or judgment, or plague, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You (for Your name is in this house), and cry out to You in our distress, and You will hear and save us.”

2 Chronicles 20:6-9

Jehoshaphat turned to God, sought God, and keeping in line with his steps of active participation, he purposely began reminding himself of every time God had been faithful in the past. This was a step towards pushing back the fear and choosing to align his mind with truth. He was reasoning that if God did those things, would He not do them, and even greater things, in this new situation he faced? He spoke God’s truth over himself and God's faithfulness over his situation. 

In the heat of the moment, when life is pushing in, it is so easy to forget everything that God has so faithfully done for us in the past. We are no different than the wandering Israelites who, when faced with a new and sometimes drastically less stressful problem than they had previously faced, immediately forgot that God had literally parted a sea to save them, rained daily nourishment down on them from heaven… and the miraculous list goes on and on. 

When life gets too big for us, we sometimes see God as too small for what we’re facing, and therein lies the need to recall every instance of God’s past faithfulness. As we recall His past faithfulness to ourselves, others we know, or stories we’ve read in Scripture, we set our minds on truth and push back the raging lies of the enemy that tell us we’re alone, forgotten, or unseen. Never forget that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is still your God today. 

4. He acknowledged and believed that his own strength and power meant nothing.

For we are powerless before this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.

2 Chronicles 20:12b

This statement is huge because the truth was, by the world's standards,  Jehoshaphat couldn’t have been further from powerless if he tried! We know this because, in 2 Chronicles 17, we read that Jehoshaphat's armies totaled more than one million valiant warriors! The truth was, Jehoshaphat had plenty of resources at his disposal, yet he counted anything of his own strength or doing as worthless, and instead, chose what he knew to be better, the resources of God and God alone. Jehoshaphat recognized that the battle belonged to God and in humility came armed with the only thing of any value, his faith in God Almighty.    

We must count anything and everything of our own strength and effort as nothing, embracing that we stand powerless apart from God. And, even if we did have something to offer, we don’t and the sooner we humbly surrender this, the sooner we can see God’s mighty hand move on our behalf.

5. He allowed God to work on his behalf in the way God chose.

This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s. Tomorrow, go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel. You need not fight in this battle; take your position, stand and watch the salvation of the Lord in your behalf, Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow, go out to face them, for the Lord is with you.”

2 Chronicles 20:15a-17

How many times do we run to God for help and then tell Him how He should rescue us? …Or is that just me?! 

I think it’s safe to say that at one time or another, we’ve presented God with our battle plan. But it is only in truly relinquishing our circumstances into God’s hands and allowing Him the freedom to work on our behalf, that things will ever really change. 

I personally once went through an excruciating time where all that mattered and meant the most to me seemingly hung in the balance. I ran to God with the situation knowing full well that I could never handle it on my own—not mentally, not emotionally, not physically… I begged God to help me, to rescue me from the anguish… and then I proceeded to tell Him how He should do it, and how all the ways He was currently helping me just didn’t suit me… or my timeline. 

One day out of the blue, God gave me a certainty in my spirit that while my ways would in fact bring relief, the relief I would experience would only be temporary. But, if I would surrender everything into His hands, and let Him work in His way and time, He would bring permanent change to my life that would surpass any plan or result that I could possibly come up with. (That’s a story for another day, but just know this, I did, and He did!) 

Jehoshaphat put everything in God’s hands and left it there. He accepted and believed the truth, that God did not need him or his earthly resources in order to bring about His plan. Jehoshaphat listened and did as God instructed with no argument and no questions asked. He had faith that God knew better than him and that God would only do good on his behalf.

6. He worshiped God.

Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 

2 Chronicles 20:18a

Before I say anything further about step 6, I just have to point out that Jehoshaphat's worship of the Lord began prior to the battle and, more importantly, prior to a victory, or for that matter, an inkling of possible victory.  He worshiped in the unknown. He worshiped in the hard circumstances. He worshiped knowing there was still a battle to face. He worshiped in faith—faith in the God he knew was trustworthy, faith in the God of his fathers, the God of Israel, the God whose name he proclaimed throughout his house, the God he knew would hear and deliver him. 

The takeaway here—don’t wait to worship God. Worship God right now in your unknown, in the middle of the hard, in the face of the storm. 

Jehoshaphat led his people by example, humbling himself, giving his circumstances to God, and worshiping the only One who was worthy of his trust. And guess what, are you ready for this? Because this is the hope you can hold onto, the whole reason why you can confidently worship God in the midst of the heartbreak you face…

While Jehoshaphat led his people in worship, God fought for them. Just like Jehoshaphat believed God would.

As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. The fear of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.

2 Chronicles 20:22, 29-30

The result of Jehoshaphat’s actions brought him, and his entire kingdom peace. And isn’t that what we’re all so desperately craving when life seems to be falling apart around us? As we glean from the 6 steps Jehoshaphat took, our confident hope today is this: just as God miraculously fought for Jehoshaphat He will fight for you too, bringing you rest on every side. 

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Podcast episode 26 - How to Handle Times of Trouble: 2 Chronicles 20

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