Written by Mark Driskill:
Monday, January 31, 2011
Read 2 Chronicles 2:1-12
Our greatest moments often come when we are at the end of ourselves and have nowhere to turn but to God. King Jehoshaphat was in such a place as we read in 2 Chronicles 20. He was fighting the fight of his life. His kingdom was being threatened by a multinational force who had banded together with the common goal of wiping him out. Do you ever feel like that? Perhaps right now you are facing an impossible situation and don’t know where to turn. You used to think you had your life pretty well managed but now the dark clouds are all around you and you see no way out. You are in the fight of your life. Maybe you have even asked God why this is happening to you. Maybe you are thinking about giving up because the enemies you face seem to be too great for you. I love to read the prayer this desperate king prayed. When he was facing the fight of his life he called out to God with these words: “We are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do but our eyes are on you.” (2 Chronicles 20:12)
At that moment God essentially told the panicking monarch, “This isn’t your fight, it’s mine. Stand still and let me handle it.” To make a long story short, the king obeyed and God pulled a huge victory out of an impossible situation. He can do the same for you. In Jehoshaphat’s prayer we see two essential things to pray and believe when you’re in the fight of your life.
- “we are powerless” – I don’t think we realize just how difficult it had to be for a King to make such a statement. Kings live or die by their ability to hold onto power and use it effectively. For a king to make such a statement was a great risk and took great humility. It has been said, “You cannot strut into God’s presence and expect to be heard.” You have to begin by admitting to God that you are helpless. The Bible tells us that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. You cannot find God’s strength as long as you trust in yours.
- “We don’t know what to do but our eyes are on you.” In other words all our plans have failed. We don’t have anything left in our bag of tricks. We are completely lost without God. The problem many of us face in tough times is that we still think we know more about the situation than God does. We want to include God in our plans when, as Rick warren says, we should be asking God to include us in His plans instead. The Bible tells us in Romans 8 that we don’t even know how to pray, or what to ask for. We think we know so much in our country. We think we can solve all our problems if we just work a little smarter and try a little harder. But there often comes a time when we realize, as the old commercial goes, “I have fallen and I can’t get up.” Only when the king was able to admit to God that he was totally dependent on the Lord was he able to find victory in an impossible situation.
Are in the fight of your life today? Are you at the ragged edges of yourself? Are you running out of quick fixes and Plan B’s? Then you are in the perfect position for a miracle. Throw away your bag of tricks before you make things worse. Call out to God, “I am powerless and I don’t know what to do, but my eyes are on you.” Then stand back and allow your papa go to work. You will be amazed at what God can do.
Mark Driskill and his wife Mary are homeschooling community ministers in Breathitt County Kentucky. They have four children. They co pastor Emmanuel fellowship Church, serve as Camp Pastors at Bethel Mennonite Camp, and Mark Teaches at Oakdale Christian Academy.
Mark is web minister for Begotten by theWord , a ministry of Helping Hands Christian Resources.
Once a month he preaches on the local radio station through the “Lion of Judah” program. Mark also preaches in youth rallies and revivals upon request at no charge. Their vision is to see true spiritual awakening come to the mountains of Eastern Kentucky and to the nation.
Contact information:
Email: driskill@hilbillymail.com
Facebook: Mark Driskill
Address: PO Box 1159 Jackson KY.
