Fearful Trust

Ahab was a very wicked king of Israel. He and Jezebel his wife worshipped Ba'al, a Canaanite god, and killed all the prophets of God that they could find.

Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, worshipped God, and destroyed the pagan idols and shrines. But he became an ally of wicked king Ahab. Ahab tried to trick Jehoshaphat to save himself, but trick failed and Ahab was killed in battle. That story is in 2 Chronicles 18, if you want to read it.

Jehoshaphat returned home in defeat, and the Lord sent a prophet to rebuke him for becoming the ally of a king that hated God. Soon after, Jehoshaphat got news that three enemy nations had joined forces and were sending a huge army to wipe him out. Instead of trying to find a new ally, he did what he should have done in the first place, and immediately went to prayer. 2 Chronicles 20 verse 3 says that Jehoshaphat "feared and set his face to seek the Lord." "Set his face" is an old phrase that means he decided and stuck to his decision. He would seek God's help. When terrified, he steeled himself to wait on God.

Then Jehoshaphat prayed a beautiful prayer: "O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In Your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand You."

In his prayer, Jehoshaphat recounted God's promise of protection, saying, "We will cry out to you in our affliction, and You will hear and save." He also told the Lord the huge challenge that they were facing: "We are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us."

Then he prayed this incredible ending: "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You.” This is the same man that had, not long before, gone and sought military protection from God's enemy. He'd been rebuked and repented of that decision, and here he simply throws himself, his family, and his nation on God's mercy. "Our eyes are on You" - we are waiting for You, trusting You, and will obey You.

And God stepped in and saved them. The enemy armies started fighting among themselves, and God's people watched as their enemies wiped themselves out.

I don't know what you are facing today. Maybe you are overwhelmed, maybe you don't know what to do, maybe you've failed before and are afraid that you will just fail over and over. Even if you are scared to death and not feeling very trusting, you can still do what Jehoshaphat did - dedicate yourself to seek God, take your situation to Him, then wait on Him. And He will take over for you. It may not be as spectacular as He did for Jehoshaphat, it may not be immediate, it may not be what you expect. But keep your eyes on Him, and He will come and save you.