Eyes On The Lord

Eyes on You!

2 Chronicles 20

Feb 15, 2026

Most text messages we receive are about the day to day minutia in our lives. Generally, we’re checking in with one another. Which is good! And sometimes we receive text messages which lead us to be a bit more introspective.

Does that happen with you? A text that causes you to stop in your tracks. Not a bad or nasty text, just one that says something which is profound.

This week I received a couple of text messages that really got me thinking, one in particular which I’ll share with you in a bit. Then I received an email from a blog, and I’m using parts of one text and the blog to lead us to talk about something important.

What do we do when we’re being challenged and what happens to the unity within the community!

One of the text messages stated - - - -

God can do more with my surrender than I can ever do with my control.

OOH! Isn’t that so true? We want and seek control. That means we fight against God, especially when God tells us to do something which is out of our control.

And often times, for a little while — — we feel good about what we’re doing because we’re in control, but that eventually comes crashing down around us.

And that leads us into an Old Testament story. It’s one in which it would have been easy to say, “OK, God, I’ve got to get this done, so I hope you’ll back me.” That’s a place we often come from.

We proclaim, “God, please walk along the path I set before me. When the going gets tough, I will call on you to take the lead, but only after I’ve exhausted all possible outcomes.” Does that sound a bit familiar? It certainly does to me!

Part of this OT story is reliance on God, and part of the story is about a group of people who are being real and honest with God and one another. It’s a sign of their unity within the community.

The story is found in 2 Chronicles 20. If you have a Bible, you can turn to this section of scripture. The southern kingdom is about to be attacked.

This is a long passage. I want to read the story, because it gives us the entire context of what’s happening. We’ll start in verse 1 - - - -

1 After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against King Jehoshaphat for battle.

2 Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Engedi.

3 Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

4 And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

5 And 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? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations.

In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.

7 Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?

8 And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying,

9 ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you —

for your name is in this house — and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’

10 And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade

when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy –

11 behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit.

12 O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For 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.

We’ll finish the story in a bit. This is a such a rich story about faith, trust and community. It’s a story about people who have such a strong and powerful belief in God. They know who to call upon.

Instead of going after these enemies, instead of planning their assault and having crazy strategic meetings with the generals and warriors, they turn to God. They’re not looking to solve this on their own. It’s total reliance on God.