Even if we pray, asking God for His will and wisdom over a particular situation or challenge but we are not getting the answer at the moment that seems right—pause.  If we seek sage words from our advisors and ask for the opinions of our mentors whom we have trusted in the past but we are still not sure if the timing is right or the actions to be taken pleasing to the Lord; be still. When in doubt—don’t move ahead until God says.  We all know that we should not rely on our feelings to explain and deal with life; but this instinctive pause within us goes much deeper. It’s called discernment.  Holy discernment is God’s gift of His Holy Spirit who guides us to Truth.  This gift of discernment hovers over those whose hearts are completely committed to God.

“He (God) says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

We should pause and read the entire psalm!  The Psalmist is declaring that no matter what was happening around him, God was his refuge and strength, “an ever-present help in time of trouble.” (Psalm 46:1) He realizes that God was, is and always will be sovereign, perfectly holy, and forever in authority over all His creation.  “Come see what the Lord has done…” (Psalm 46:8) reminds us we are safe and secure.  We are assured that He is indeed God. So, we can wait on God timing and perfect will—even in the middle of chaos and opposing views. God is still on his throne.

In our passage today, King Asa has died and his son, Jehoshaphat is now King of Judah.  Jehoshaphat feared and loved God. The new king listens to God and does what He says.  By God’s direction, power, and strength, the king sends out his officials and God’s priests to teach all people The Law of God handed down from Moses.  King Jehoshaphat also remove all idols from all places which please God.  God blessed him with all he needed to do His will for the good of God’s people and for the glory of God!

Later, however, the king foolishly made an alliance with Ahab, the wicked king of Israel. He is in doubt of the King Ahab’s plan to conquer the world around him and seeks a word from the Lord.  Here is part one of Jehoshaphat’s reign.

2 Chronicles 17

Jehoshaphat King of Judah

Jehoshaphat his son succeeded him as king and strengthened himself against Israel. ² He stationed troops in all the fortified cities of Judah and put garrisons in Judah and in the towns of Ephraim that his father Asa had captured.

³ The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the ways of his father David before him. He did not consult the Baals ⁴ but sought the God of his father and followed his commands rather than the practices of Israel. ⁵ The Lord established the kingdom under his control; and all Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, so that he had great wealth and honor. ⁶ His heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord; furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah.

⁷ In the third year of his reign he sent his officials Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel and Micaiah to teach in the towns of Judah. ⁸ With them were certain Levites—Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah and Tob-Adonijah—and the priests Elishama and Jehoram. ⁹ They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law of the Lord; they went around to all the towns of Judah and taught the people.

¹⁰ The fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah, so that they did not go to war against Jehoshaphat. ¹¹ Some Philistines brought Jehoshaphat gifts and silver as tribute, and the Arabs brought him flocks: seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred goats.

¹² Jehoshaphat became more and more powerful; he built forts and store cities in Judah ¹³ and had large supplies in the towns of Judah. He also kept experienced fighting men in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ Their enrollment by families was as follows:

From Judah, commanders of units of 1,000: Adnah the commander, with 300,000 fighting men; ¹⁵ next, Jehohanan the commander, with 280,000; ¹⁶ next, Amasiah son of Zikri, who volunteered himself for the service of the Lord, with 200,000.

¹⁷ From Benjamin: Eliada, a valiant soldier, with 200,000 men armed with bows and shields; ¹⁸ next, Jehozabad, with 180,000 men armed for battle. ¹⁹ These were the men who served the king, besides those he stationed in the fortified cities throughout Judah.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God gave Jehoshaphat all he needed to do God’s will for the people who lived in the kingdom of Judah.  God loves to bless those “do what is right in the eyes of the Lord.” However, he is fodder for the foolishness of evil, and is prone to compromise with those who do evil.

Warren Wiersbe explains the history behind the throne;

“Jehoshaphat was a good king and a godly leader, but he got involved in three costly compromises. The first was the bride compromise when he married his son to a daughter of Ahab and Jezebel (18:1; 21:2–7), causing Ahab’s evil influence to affect even the reign of Jehoshaphat’s grandson (22:1–9). This led to the battle compromise, as he got entangled in Ahab’s affairs when Aram attacked Israel (18:2—19:3). This almost cost Jehoshaphat his life (1 Kin. 22:32, 33). The third compromise was the boat compromise, when Jehoshaphat foolishly joined forces with Ahab’s son Ahaziah (2 Chr. 20:35–37; 1 Kings 22:48, 49) and tried to get rich by importing foreign goods. The Lord wrecked his fleet and rebuked him for his sinful alliance.”—Wiersbe Study Bible

When what is happening around us prompts us to compromise our faith in God with actions that do not line up with His Word, who is Truth, to do what others think and do—pause.  And when in doubt—don’t—don’t take another step closer to compromise but run instead to God!  “Be still and know that I AM God,” His Holy Spirit beckons.  Listen to Me, trust Me, even if it means to wait. God knows what He is doing. Know God who reigns over all because He created all!  Build a relationship with God by believing in what Jesus did for us—this is God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will for us!

Stay tuned—there’s more to come! 

Oh Lord,

When we do what is right in your eyes; help us to remain humble in our walk with you. When you bless us Lord, beyond our wildest dreams, help us to remember You as the Giver of all good things.  When life is good and going well, may we know you more for it is not we who provided—only You. 

So, when life is blessed by you may we live in awe of you.  When others seek you through us because of what they see on the outside, may we remain humble with thanksgiving, giving all praise to you.  It is not we who made us—it is You.  With your power working in us, help us to avoid arrogant, pride-filled thinking which leads to compromise with comparisons of our lives to others—a slippery slope. Thank you for your thoughts today that remind me of your power working in us. Thank you for not giving up on us because of your boundless, limitless, relentless love for us!

In Jesus Name, Amen