By Lucas Pruett
Hello Southern Torch Audience! Lucas Pruett here and I can not wait to share some truth with you guys on a weekly basis. If you ever have questions, thoughts, or praise reports from my writings then feel free to reach out to me at writingonpurpose@gmail.com.
Let’s turn to King Jehoshaphat this week. First, let’s take a quick second to get to know this man with a fantastic name. You can find the full story of Jehoshaphat in chapters 17-21 of 2nd Chronicles. However, for the sake of word limits let me give you the Lucas version of who he was.
Our boy Jehoshaphat succedded his father Asa as king. God was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the ways of David and his heart was devoted completely to the Lord. He was a baller.
He crushed false idols, won battle after battle and accumulated some awesome wealth in the process. The favor of God was centered on him through his obedience and he moved in confidence.
One episode I love in Jehoshaphat’s life can be found in 2 Chronicles 20. In verse two, we find a group of people that bring bad news to the king. The group relays, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom...It is already in Hazezon Tamar.” In case your biblical map knowledge is a little rusty, Hazezon Tamar is about 35 miles from Jerusalem. That’s not extremely close in that day and age but it’s still a little troubling when you think about the fact that Jehoshaphat had no knowledge this battle royale was in the works.
This is something we all can relate to. Trouble comes out of nowhere. A big sign of your faith is how do you respond when a crisis comes. How do you respond when life alarms you? Let’s see how the king responds to this situation.
Hint: His response is pure gold. Verse three reads, “Alarmed...” Let’s stop there. This baller of all ballers is alarmed when he gets this news? He doesn’t have it all together? Of course not! He is human. When humans hear troubling news, we are alarmed. That’s how we roll and that’s okay!
The story continues, “Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord”. I love this. This is exactly what it means to be a follower of Christ. In the midst of being alarmed, Jehoshaphat didn’t do a couple of things that we probably would have done. He didn’t try to take control. He also didn’t allow the alarming facts to paralyze him and send him into comfort eating or passive behavior. He did the one thing that he knew could give him answers. He resolved to inquire on what God’s thoughts were for this situation. He knew that all answers were to be found in God’s steadfast love, not in his own knowledge and understanding.
The same is true for us. Our faith walk is directly tied to God’s favor and blessing over our lives and no power of our own. Author Lysa Terkeurst coined a daily habit called “First Five” after working through this piece of scripture. Her basic premise is that we should offer the first five minutes of our day, after waking up, to God. This can be done in a lot of different ways. It can be in verbal prayer, reading of scripture or journaling prayer. I bring this to your attention because the truth is that alot of alarming things are going to happen to you today, and everyday. Just like Jehoshaphat’s news that fell upon his ears, something will happen to us that will make us alarmed, troubled, and worried. It would be wise of us to take the first five minutes of the day to resolve in the Lord immediately for these things that we know are inevitable to happen. As we resolve before we get started, we come to the same realization as Jehoshaphat and that is that we know there is no chance for success for us today without the favor of our Father. Join with me in trying this as a daily habit and let’s watch how God starts winning those battles for us each day!
