Before You Make Your Next Move

Before You Make Your Next Move

2 Chronicles 20:3 to 9 - "Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD." 2 Chronicles 20:3

Jehoshaphat was a king. He had soldiers, commanders and resources available to him, yet the story does not begin with a military briefing.

It begins with seeking God.

This does not mean Jehoshaphat had no responsibility to act. Later in the chapter, Judah would be told exactly where to go, and they would have to get up early and move. Trusting God was never an excuse for doing nothing. But Jehoshaphat understood something we easily forget. Movement is not the same thing as direction.

Many of us become uncomfortable with the space between discovering a problem and doing something about it. We feel safer when we are moving. Send an email. Make a phone call. Arrange a meeting. Search for another option. Speak to somebody. Fix something.

Sometimes immediate action is necessary. At other times, all our activity is simply anxiety trying to make itself useful.

Jehoshaphat stopped long enough to seek God.

Then, when he stood before the people, listen to how his prayer began.

"LORD, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven?"

The army was approaching, but Jehoshaphat began with God.

He spoke about God's rule, God's power and God's previous faithfulness before he began describing what the enemy was doing.

That was not denial. Jehoshaphat knew exactly where the enemy was. He simply refused to make the enemy the biggest thing in his prayer.

Sometimes our prayers become long explanations of the problem. We tell God what happened, what somebody said, what might happen next, what we are afraid will happen after that, and why the whole situation looks impossible. By the time we finish praying, we are more conscious of the problem than when we started.

Jehoshaphat remembered.

He remembered who God was. He remembered what God had done. He remembered God's relationship with His people. He remembered the sanctuary and the promise that when trouble came, God's people could cry to Him and He would hear.

His memory became part of his faith.

There are days when you need to remember your own history with God.

Remember the door you thought would never open.

Remember the season you thought would finish you.

Remember how frightened you were about something that is now merely part of your story.

Remember the strength you somehow had for something you were convinced you could never survive.

Remember the prayer that once kept you awake at night but is now something you occasionally mention when telling people what God has done.

Today's trouble has not erased yesterday's faithfulness.

That does not mean God must answer today's prayer exactly as He answered yesterday's. God is not a formula. It simply means that the God you are calling upon today is not a stranger.

You have history with Him.

Before you make your next move, remember who you are talking to.

When you pray about your present situation, what receives more attention, the size of the problem or the character of God?

Take some time today and remember three situations in which God sustained, redirected, provided for or strengthened you.

Do not only remember how they ended. Remember how they felt before you knew the ending.

Then bring today's uncertainty before the same God.

Prayer

Father, before I tell You again how large the problem looks, I want to remember who You are. You are God when I understand and God when I do not. You have carried me through seasons I once believed would overwhelm me. You have answered some prayers exactly as I hoped and others in ways I only understood much later. Forgive me for the times I have allowed urgency to push me ahead of You. Give me wisdom to know when to move and when to wait. Before I make my next decision, settle my heart enough to hear You clearly. I remember Your faithfulness today. Let yesterday's testimony strengthen today's trust. In Jesus' name, Amen.