Jehoshaphat
So, do you know the story of Jehoshaphat? If not, you should probably go read 2 Chronicles 20! It’s awesome! A brief recap: There is a king. His name is Jehoshaphat. He isn’t perfect (but neither are any of us), but he does seek the Lord. His tiny kingdom is going to be attacked by three separate armies combining as one huge force! When Jehoshaphat finds out about this, he does the only thing he can: seek the Lord. They can’t fight, they’ll be decimated. If they surrender, they’ll be captives, slaves, or worse. They can’t run. So, he gathers all of his people to his temple, and they fast and pray. He says a bunch of really awesome stuff in his prayer, but ends with “God, we don’t have the power to face this army that is coming against us. We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”
Then, a prophet gives Jehoshaphat God’s answer: they need to march out the following morning, but trust that God is going to win the battle for them. They won’t have to do anything. So, the next morning. They go out to battle singing God’s praises! A good friend of mine commented, “This may be the only battle in history won with singing!” While they were marching out singing God’s praise, God mysteriously and miraculously has the armies turn on themselves and begin attacking each other. By the time the Israelites get to the scene, everyone is dead. The Lord had won a complete victory for them – they didn’t do anything.
But, at the same time, they did do something: they sought the Lord, they obeyed His command to march out, and they worshipped Him (even before the victory – which is SOOO cool!).
This seemed like a very fitting song for the time of Corona virus pandemic. I realize that some of us aren’t worried about death or dying…but some are. And most of us are worried about certain family members. There really is only one logical solution…we can’t run. We can’t go out and fight it. We turn to the Lord. And we sing the song that our hearts need to hear. It strengthens us and it gives Him praise. He has not left us. He goes before us.
Jehoshaphat
Oh God, this seems unprecedented
To have a foe that fuels our fear right before the war begins
So we come into Your Presence
Oh God in Heaven, You hear us, cry out in our distress
We don’t know what to do
But our eyes are on You
Teach our hearts to sing this song:
The battle is not ours; The battle has been won!
Let it ring out as we march on
No matter what we face; Our faith is in our God!
Oh God, we seek You in earnest
It’s too late to run, and we cannot fight alone
But You have not left us defenseless
We stand upon the promise of deliverance foretold
Our resolve made strong in praises sung
Our hearts in tandem with our lungs
What beautiful, enduring Love
Whose victory is won