24 April | EVERYONE

BELIEVE IN THE LORD AND IN HIS PROPHETS

"So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, ‘Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.’” 2 Chronicles 20:20

Jehoshaphat was returning with his head down, and when he looked up, he would only do so to see the sad, very old, and very silent villages that were located along the road. The melancholy afternoon of his return could have been just another afternoon in decades past, or of any other day. If it were, the king who had almost died in battle would turn back and hear God’s voice. He would not have tried to make an alliance with Ahab, the idolatrous king of Israel, by marrying his son Jehoram to Athaliah, who was as wicked as her mother Jezebel. But it was too late. Because of his disobedience, he had almost lost his life fighting the Syrians, and when he arrived in Jerusalem, he heard that an armed coalition of Moabites, Edomites, and Ammonites was approaching him.

Experience lived and lesson learned. Jehoshaphat feared the enemy forces and, on this occasion, sought divine guidance, and God sent the prophet Jahaziel announcing that the battle was already won. The army of Judah was to stand still and watch only for the great victory that the Lord would give them.

The next day, as we see in the verse above, King Jehoshaphat encouraged the people to believe in God and His prophets, for victory was already assured. God has always spoken to His people throughout history. He is not silent. He communicates, He guides His children, and He does not leave them confused, or not knowing what to do.

Today He continues to speak through His Word. Every preacher is in a way a prophet of God, in the sense that they speak not in their name but in the name of the One who sent them. That is why the preacher has the responsibility not to preach what they imagine, but what God says in His Word.

Take Action

Every difficult step in life should be an exercise in faith. The next time you encounter an "insurmountable" difficulty, put yourself in God's hands, and do not doubt that, eventually, what to you seemed an insurmountable obstacle will be left behind. Sing "Believe in the Lord" (if possible, with your family).