Our text this week was again the same passage in 2 Chronicles. Pastor Jack was struck with Jehoshaphat's reaction to the news that armies were conspiring against Judah. After being terrified, Jehoshaphat "set himself up to see the Lord." In response, God tells him not to be afraid because this is God's fight, not Jehoshaphat's.
Pastor Jack stressed that no matter what you face, God can get you through it and in doing so, he draws you closer to him. I certainly believe in the power of God. I believe he CAN do anything. But he doesn't always take action, and often when I've been pleading for something, I feel that God is ignoring me. It's really hard to have faith that God will take care of the troubles you face when you feel ignored. So being drawn closer to God? Hard to imagine for me. Pastor Jack praised Jehoshaphat's response to the threat to Judah. His reward can be found in 2 Chronicles 20:30 - So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about.
Pastor Jack cautioned, though, that trusting God to solve our problems doesn't me we can ignore them. He says that God wants to give us victory in the presence of our enemies. He makes us face our problems square on. Jack went on to say that 80% of success is just showing up. Many problems can be solved by just being present. He says we need to confront problems face to face and take action right away. God told Jehoshaphat "fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them." We were told not to wait to face problems. Jack quoted "Where there is a hill to climb, don't think that waiting will make it any smaller." The hill might not get any smaller, but sometimes waiting allows you to recover the strength to go up the hill. If you've been running a long race, you may not have the stamina to manage the hill, but a little nap revives you enough to get up to the top, and then downhill is smooth sailing.
Pastor Jack said that no one has to wait to experience the power of God in their lives. I beg to differ, here. God doesn't come on command. He's God, not dog. He has his own sense of timing, and often defers displaying his power until a later date, sometimes refusing to show it at all. Pastor Jack says to avoid the "What's the use?" attitude. He says it prevents acting right away and can push it off forever so that the problems are never solved.
The pastor's final instruction was to chart our own course with praise. Upon hearing what God had to say, Jehoshaphat immediately "consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy [endureth] for ever." And as soon as they began to praise, the enemy self-destructed. Praise, Jack says, is crucial to experiencing victory.
Part of this is that without praise for God, we give the enemy more credit than he deserves. When we complain, we are boasting in the power of our enemy. We need to be aware of what we face, but we need to realize that God is bigger. Confronting and complaining are two different things. Confronting has a heart full of faith and a mouth full of praise for God. What Jack said reminded me of the Veggie Tales song "God is bigger than the boogieman." Jack says that if you precede your steps with praise, you won't have to fight. He says that when we praise God, fear melts and is replaced with confidence and joy.
It's really hard to praise when you don't trust. It's really hard to trust when experience has been negative.
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