Does anyone envy world leaders right now? I mean really, would you want to be standing in President Obama’s shoes with the job of saving the U.S. economy from its worst crisis since the Great Depression? Hundreds of millions of people are counting on the president and leaders like him to get the world’s economy back on track. And many think if anyone can do it, it’s confident leaders like Obama.
But is confidence enough to get us out of the crisis we’re in? How about the crisis our synod faces? If you’ve read the latest news bulletin from our church body, you’ll know that 15 world missionaries are being recalled and 21 North American-based pastors and staff minsters are being defunded as a result of the latest financial crisis. Congregations close to home will be affected. Tree of Life (Calgary), St. Paul’s (Calgary), and Apostles (Regina) will all lose their funding come June 30th. How are we as a synod going to make it through these difficult times? It would seem that we need confident leadership.
We need leadership all right but not the kind you see the world’s leaders displaying. They’re tripping over each other to tell us who has the best plan to get us out of this crisis. No, the kind of leadership we need is what a Jewish king named Jehoshaphat demonstrated during a national emergency. From him we’re going to learn that the way to turn crisis into conquest God’s way is by admitting our helplessness and acknowledging God’s promises.
So what’s the skinny on Jehoshaphat? Well he was a descendant of the famous King David and was generally a God-fearing king. During his reign he sent out Levites, temple workers, from Jerusalem to instruct the people in God’s Word. He also actively sought out and destroyed idols his people had made. One fault Jehoshaphat had was the he hung out with the wicked King Ahab of Israel. Still God blessed Jehoshaphat and made him a wealthy and powerful king. But just as a fat cat enjoys lounging in the sunshine more than prowling the grounds, it seems that the wealth and power had made Jehoshaphat and his people complacent. How else do you explain how an alliance of three armies were able to march within 80 km of the capital city before it was detected?
It’s not hard for us to imagine what Jehoshaphat and his people must have felt upon hearing the news. Just over a year ago (June 2008) the Alberta government was forecasting a 12 billion dollar surplus. As a province we were riding high on economic good fortune. Builders couldn’t keep up with demands for new homes. Guys working in the oil patch believed they could afford a new truck every year. Life was good! But now? Now the Alberta government is forecasting a 4.7 billion dollar deficit. That’s a 16.7 billion dollar turnaround in one year! People who were on the verge of retirement have now had to extend their careers or consign themselves to working part-time in retirement because their savings took such a hit in the stock market. People who a year ago didn’t know what to do with all their money now find themselves out of work.
What was King Jehoshaphat’s response to the crisis? With the enemy only 80 km away you’d think the king would summon his generals for a war council, order the reservists out to their battle stations, say a quick prayer and hope for the best. But that’s not what Jehoshaphat did. “Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 4 The people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him” (2 Chronicles 20:3, 4). If a hostile country was 80 km away from dropping bombs on your neighborhood, what would you think if Prime Minister Harper said: “Stay calm everyone. Don’t panic. In fact don’t do anything. Don’t even eat any meals today. Just join me in praying.” But that’s exactly what the people of Judah did – from the oldest to the youngest they stood before the king with their families and raised their hearts to God in prayer.
The people of Judah put us to shame don’t they? When’s the last time praying was the first thing you did in crisis? Don’t we tend to use prayer as a last resort? Even worse than that, we treat it like a last second shot from full court - we don’t really think it will do any good but we’ve got to try right? Wash us clean, Lord. Wipe away the offense of our hesitancy to trust your invitation: “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me” (Psalm 50:15).
Jehoshaphat not only prayed first in the face of crisis, he prayed well. “O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you…But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir…we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you” (2 Chronicles 20:6, 10, 12b). How did Jehoshaphat handle crisis? By admitting he had no idea what to do! How well do you think that would go over in the world of politics today? Yet it’s humility that absolutely delights the Lord. The Apostle James said: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” (James 4:10).
Have you come to that point in your life yet? Have you admitted before the Lord that you are helpless? We need to come to that conclusion in regard to spiritual matters. If we think that there is something we can do to earn our salvation, we’re in big trouble. An “I’m sorry” doesn’t erase years of pain your abuse has caused. An “I’ll try harder” doesn’t count for much when we keep falling into the same hurtful patterns. And an “I didn’t mean to” doesn’t repair the damage our insensitive words have done. If you want relief from the guilt of your sins, the only thing that will do is to turn to the Lord and say with Jehoshaphat: “I don’t know what to do. I’m helpless!”
It’s to get us to this point that God allows crisis to crash into our lives. It’s when we have nothing left but God that we realize that God is enough. Indeed, Jehoshaphat believed that. That’s why he ended his prayer: “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you” (2 Chronicles 20: 12b). This is the prayer that turns crisis into conquest. While the king and the people were still standing there God moved one of the Levites to say: “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. 17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you” (2 Chronicles 20:15b-17).
Jehoshaphat and the people were so confident of God’s promise that when they set out early the next morning to see the victory God would win for them, the army sang this refrain as they marched: “Give thanks to the Lord for his love endures forever” (2 Chronicles 20:21b). You too can sing that song no matter what crisis you’re facing, for the battle belongs to the Lord. Your sins are forgiven. Your daily bread is being provided. Jesus, your brother, has ascended to the right hand of the Father and with all power rules for your benefit! That’s way better than having a sibling become prime minister.
Jehoshaphat’s faith was not disappointed. When he arrived at the battlefield he found all the enemy combatants dead. God had caused them to turn on one another. Judah was not only saved that day, it was provided for. The Israelites spent the next three days gathering the plunder from the battlefield. That’s how God works. He fights and wins the battle but gives us the spoils. For example Jesus died on the cross and came back to life but it’s our sins that have been forgiven.
So what does this all mean for our current crisis? It means that we need to pause from our ministry planning or hand wringing and catch our breath so we can speak to the Lord. And there’s not a whole lot we have to say really. Just “We don’t know what to do. Missions are closing, synodical schools are threatened, membership is declining… We’re helpless, Lord. We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are upon you. Turn this crisis into conquest.” Now do we just sit back and wait for the Lord to a pull a rabbit out of the hat? No. We go forward confident of God’s promises, as did Jehoshaphat. The promises we have are that his Word will not return empty and that he will bless faithful firstfruits giving.
There’s no question about it. God has already won the war. And so even though we are helpless to win any battles on our own we will march forward boldly with the army of Jehoshaphat as we sing: “Give thanks to the Lord for his love endures forever” (2 Chronicles 20:21b). Amen.
