Scripture:

1 Chronicles 20:1-6,15,16,17,19

1 It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites,[a] came to battle against Jehoshaphat 2 Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from [a]Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi). 3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set [b]himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. 5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, 6 and said: “O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? 15 And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.” 19 Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high.

"Not Your Battle"

Ever notice that trouble never waits for us to be ready? The truth is, we must always be ready for trouble.  We know that Jesus said we will have it, so don't wait until it hits you to be prepared.   And I think we see a little of that in today's portion, King Jehoshaphat.   

I want you to notice a few things:

Vv. 1 

"It happened after this."   

This tells us that it was something they did not see coming.  That is the way life is, it hits in the middle of the night, it hits with a diagnosis from the doctor, it hits with a phone call, it doesn't wait for you to be ready.

Vv. 3

"And Jehoshaphat feared"

You may feel some sort of way about Jehoshaphat's first response, but most of us when we hear bad news we have this response, shock, worry, a little fear that we are unable to handle the situation.   

But what I want to point you to is what he did afterward: "set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah."  When things turned upside down, he knew what to do: "Seek the Lord" to seek out a power greater than himself, and even more, he brought others into the situation.   One of the chief plans of any enemy, even in nature, is to divide and conquer, to isolate you in your troubles, so that you are not only weak, but not even you believe you can overcome the situation. 

Vv. 5

 “O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You?"

He reminds God who He is to them, and He reminds himself who God is, and of His promise.   He remembers that there is no one like God and no one who can withstand Him; this problem is not too big for God; it's too big for me, but not Him. 

You have something giant in your life, tell it about the Bigness of Your God, and remind yourself that nothing can withstand Him.

Vv. 15 "‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s."

Remember who you are, whose you are, you are a child of the King, straighten your crown.   Your battles belong to the Lord, it is not that you should not do you part, you must, you must seek Him in every situation, seek His presence, His power, you must TRUST Him in it, but REMEMBER whose battle it is...

RECAP: 

Today's God Shot is:

1. It's not that you fear, its what you do after you're afraid that matters.   

• Seek the Lord
• Don't Isolate Yourself
• Draw on the strength and prayers of others, rally together to seek the Lord

2. Remember Who You Are and Who God Is

• Remember your identity in Christ (This is strength)
• Remember, His power is the deciding factor in everything you face

3. Surrender Your Battles/Fights to Him

• The Battle belongs to the Lord
• He will bring the victory
• Trust Him

Lord, thank you for the reminder that even when life is a struggle, and the situations and the struggle are real, they are overwhelming, they are not too big for you, you are able, your power is endless, your strength unmatchable, the things that we cannot overcome, or accomplish, we ask Father that you would do them, in the matchless name of Jesus, Amen!

Scripture:

2 Chronicles 18:31

31 So it was, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, “It is the king of Israel!” Therefore they surrounded him to attack; but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him, and God diverted them from him.

Be Careful of the Things You Align Your Life With

When you read this portion, you wonder why a King such as Jehoshaphat would align himself with such a wicked king as Ahab.  The word says that he was faithful and tore down the high places, that he was responsible for the turning of God's people.  This really is a warning for you and I to be careful who we align ourselves with, in today's portion it almost cost Jehosephat his life.  Thank the Lord that He is our deliverer, that in our day of trouble He is able to deliver us to redeem us, even when we are in the wrong place, when we have made the wrong choices, God is merciful and gracious toward us, not giving us what we deserve.   Reality is that God could have told him, you got yourself into this, you get yourself out... But thank God that He doesn't give us what we deserve.

The God Shot today is:  "Be careful of the things you align your life with."  Bible says (1 Cor 15:33) "Bad company corrupts good character."   We are affected by the influences we allow in our lives, that means anything you let in, your phone, your friends, your TV, the internet.  Today in our portion Jehosephat let Ahab convince him to be the bait, now nowhere could I think that was a good idea, but sometimes our judgement is off when we have the wrong influencers speaking into our lives.   Today is another day we learn to guard the gates of our lives, what we allow in, what we tolerate.   Jehosephat would go on to accomplish mighty victories in (2 Chron 20) but this mistake was almost the last one if it wasn't for the Lord.

Lord, may we always guard the gates of our lives, who and what we allow in them, give us wisdom to not make the wrong choices, to go the wrong direction, keep us in your purpose, your plan, keep us near you in Jesus' name, Amen!

Scripture:

1 Kings 21:28-29

28 And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29 “See how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the calamity in his days. In the days of his son I will bring the calamity on his house.”

Observation:

It Shall Be Done

Among all the kings, Ahab and Jezebel did the most damage, the greatest evil, and because of this wicked thing he did to Naboth for a vineyard.   As a side note, I want you to notice it was Jezebel who schemed the evil thing, but it was Ahab who was accountable for it.   Yet here in today's portion, the Lord sends Elijah, the prophet of Israel, to Ahab to tell him of the judgment he has brought down on his own head. The scripture says that he humbled himself and repented, and because of it, the Lord was merciful, but notice that the Lord did not keep from His promise; this would be done, just not in his days but in the days of his son's rule. 

Application:

Today's God Shot is that the Lord will keep His promises. You can take the check to the bank and cash it. His promises are good; the Bible says they are "yes" and "amen."   The second part of today's God Shot is that His mercy endures forever: if you humble yourself, God sees our hearts, and He is merciful, not giving us what we deserve but what we don't deserve.

Here are seven promises you can hold onto today:

1. Constant Presence: "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5)
2. Perfect Peace: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you." (John 14:27)
3. Strength in Weakness: "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." (Isaiah 40:29)
4. Divine Provision: "My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)
5. Hope and a Future: " 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord... 'plans to give you hope and a future.' " (Jeremiah 29:11)
6. Guidance: "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go." (Psalm 32:8)
7. Rest for the Weary: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)

Prayer:

Lord, we thank you that you never change, that you are constant, that we can trust in you and in your promises, you will keep them, you don't waver, you are merciful, giving us what we do not deserve. Lord, keep us from evil and keep our hearts near you, in Jesus' name, Amen!

Scripture:

1 Kings 19:11-12

11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

Getting Closer

Often, when we think of God, we think of the powerful things that He can do. He is the creator of all things, and He can do anything: wind that can tear rocks apart, cause earthquakes, fire, but this portion of the word of God says that He was not in those things.  

Why is this important? 

It is important to know that God is not in the disastrous things that happen in your life, that rain falls on everyone's head (Matt 5:45), that tough times come to the just and the unjust, but that God is not in the destructive things of life.   

This verse tells us that God is relational, that He wants us to be near to Him, to be in relationship with Him, His creation.   See, to hear a whisper, you and I need to be close to hear; the God of the Universe, the creator of all things, the Great I AM, wants to be near you and me.  Let that simmer in your head for a moment.

The application today is to examine your life. Have you allowed the outside noise to distract you from hearing the still, small voice of God? Is your life too loud right now? Do you need to slow down and take a beat with God, a moment, to get near and listen?   This is the God Shot today, that you would slow down and get near to the Lord, to listen to the still small voice of the Lord speaking to you today, to remember that He is with you in the storms, not bringing them, that it is when life gets noisy that you need to draw near.

Lord, help us to slow down, even when life is hectic; help us to hear you, to listen to your direction, to not allow the noise of this world to distract us, that we may follow your lead, to heed your words, to have the life you intended for us, in Jesus' name, Amen!

Scripture:

2 Chronicles 11:15-16

15 Then he appointed for himself priests for the [a]high places, for the demons, and the calf idols which he had made. 16 And after the Levites left, those from all the tribes of Israel, such as set their heart to seek the Lord God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers.

"What We Will Not Let In Our Gates"

Today, in our portion, we get the picture of not only wicked times but wicked leaders. In Vv. 15, we see Jeroboam's wicked acts of idolatry and demon worship.   We know from 1 Kings that he even went as far as creating his own priesthood, not Levites, not God's set-apart people, but people from the northern kingdoms.    The times were wicked, and many were caught up in it.  But here is verse 16, we see something of importance, something significant that the Levites and those who had "set their heart to seek the Lord God of Israel.

What we tolerate is important, and the Levites and these godly people would not tolerate the wickedness of their times, and they refused to be part of it, so much so that they left their homes and traveled to Jerusalem to worship and sacrifice to the Lord.    This is a reminder that we have a choice in what we allow in our homes, to influence our children, to influence us, what we will tolerate, it reminds us that we have a choice, to choose what is good, to choose the Lord, to guard our gates, to refuse to "go with the flow."

Today, our God Shot is "Be Set Apart." 1 Peter 2:9 says that you and I are set-apart, and I love this; it says we are a "peculiar people," a holy nation, a royal priesthood. Peculiar means "different." We don't look like the world around us.  The second part of this is that to consider what we allow through the gates of our homes, our TV, our music, the internet, our phones, people, what we allow to be an influence, to guard this gate, to keep our hearts ready to seek and serve the Lord...

Lord, help us guard our gates, help us never go with the flow, tolerate evil, help us guard the gates of our homes, what we allow in, and what we will not allow, protect our families, our children, our homes, let our hearts always be set to seek you, to serve you in Jesus' name, Amen!