2 Chronicles 20:20-22 ” As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful. 21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.” 22 As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.”

Growing up as a kid my mum had a picture of a kitten barley holding on with these words written across it “Faith isn’t faith until it’s all you are hanging onto” I have often recalled those words as my own faith has taken yet another battering and I struggle to believe what I proclaimed to believe. Is there anything more difficult and yet delightful than faith? In 2 Chronicles we find Jehoshaphat faced with a great foe and yet he chooses to walk by faith instead of fear. Instead of the problems battering His faith they bolster his battle cry: “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God”. He turns the people from the problem to the provider as he teaches them to:

• Seek the Father’s Face

Jehoshaphat has just been told that there is a vast army coming to destroy him and the people of Judah and he knew that he did not have the power to defeat or deal with such a great army. As we look at Jehoshaphat’s situation we can identify with his plight. Have you ever been in his shoes where all seems hopeless, where the darkness of impending doom and defeat seem to settle in like a deafening silence? In this coming storm Jehoshaphat chose to seek the sanctuary of the Savior and he called the people to follow him to their Father as he called for a national fast. Often when we face fear we chose to focus on self, to make it about me, we forget faith and turn to our feelings.  Jehoshaphat understood that a crisis of faith was an opportunity to turn the focus to the father, that as a leader this was a present not a problem. Today we see the problems and panic, our faith fails because we fail to see God’s gift to us in leadership, nothing will turn hearts to the healer faster than fear. Jehoshaphat was a sincere seeker of the Father, showing his people who to turn to. Fear is an opportunity to show people the father. Jehoshaphat understood that they he and his people had to seek the face of God. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” So often in the storm and the struggle we turn inward instead of upward, Jehoshaphat went to the temple to pray and praise the only provider and protected. Faith choses to exalt the Father, not the fear. He acknowledges God for His sovereign power, His wisdom, His kindness and grace given to them by way of Abraham, his descendants, and the land. Jehoshaphat recounts and remembers where they have come from and what God has already done. In this rat race we need to take time out to reflect on the work of our Redeemer, prayer causes us to pause and repositions us and our priories.

• Stop Bawling and Start Believing

After Jehoshaphat was done praying, the Spirit of God came on a Levite by the name of Jahaziel a prophet not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible. He informed Jehoshaphat that everything was going to be alright, that he should not worry. How many times does God repeat this same message throughout the bible, “Don’t worry, don’t be afraid, don’t be discouraged because of what you see. The question is will we believe? Belief dictates behavior, instead of Jehoshaphat shying away he shows up.  God knew that there was a vast army on the way, it didn’t catch Him by surprise. His message was simple don’t let the numbers frighten you, no matter how big it’s not your battle. Don’t flinch and don’t even buckle I’ve got your back. All that you have to do tomorrow is show up and stand firm, don’t move, don’t fight, don’t run just rest in your mighty Messiah. When we believe that the battle is the Lord’s we become bold, we stop striving in our strength and show up secure in His. Faith holds on knowing it’s in His hands, Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation. Seeking the Savior causes us to showing up. In your battle do you believe?

• Sing the Song of Victory Before the Battle Begins

Jehoshaphat showed up with his singers in front, he came to see and to sing to his Savior. Believing allowed Jehoshaphat to make a bold move and bring the worship team to watch God wage war. What if we would play our instruments of praise and sing to the Savior instead of stewing on the problems? Seeking the Lord led to showing up and singing His praises, before the battle ever started Jehoshaphat praises His provider for the victory. When you really believe that the battle belongs to the Lord then you believe in victory and you know He has won the war. So often we praise after the provision, holding our singing until after the storm has passed. I want to live like a Jehoshaphat shouting out the victory before the final verdict.

As the vast army began to march against them they sang Psalm 136:

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods, His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords, His love endures forever.

To him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever.

As the enemy encircled them they kept right on singing, playing their instruments, and praising God. Their focus was on the Father not the fight, faith knows who wins the war.  Suddenly the enemy soldiers starting fighting and slaughtering each other. The worship team kept singing to God, lifting their song not their sword. Today, when faith seems to be all you have to hang onto, don’t fret or fight, focus on the Father.

Hebrews 10:22-23 “let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.  23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”

In a day when many are falling away verse 22 admonishes us to draw near and fellowship to God. Paul was calling the Hebrew Christians to come and commune with God which in a culture steeped in Judaism would have been considered crazy. Judaism provided no direct access yet here was free access to the holy-of-holies without fear of death. These new believers had walked away from a very complex religious system and stepped into the simple faith offered by Christ. As a result they were both unpopular and unwelcome in their communities, and often ostracized by their families. As they experienced great persecution Paul encouraged them to seek the sanctuary of the Savior. Today we need to come into His presence and experience His provision in the problems. We can come to the Father through faith by the:

• BLOOD

Because of the Savior we are no longer separated by sin. Yet today we have shied away from talking about the blood that broke the boundary and gave us access to the Father; we seem to be more bothered by the blood than blessed. But we come into His presence based on the blood of Jesus Christ and even when we arrive at the throne, we do not have a voice but that of the blood. In Egypt the only voice that caused the Angel of death to pass over was the blood. It was the blood rubbed on the doorposts and lintels of the house that provided the blessing of protection. The blood sprinkled upon the Mercy Seat paid our sin debt so we no longer have to carry the dirt and guilt that sin has stained us with. We can worship in His presence because we are washed by His provision. Not only are we forgiven and free but the blood also gives us an audience with the Almighty, the blessing of the blood means we can be:

• BOLD

The blood should cause us to draw near to God’s presence with boldness yet one of the greatest challenges in the Christian life today seems to be communing with the Father. For many communing with God seems to cramp their style, journeying into the presence of God has become a job instead of a joy. Today we have compartmentalized the Christian life, choosing to commute between Christ and commerce as we try to coast on the comforts of capitalism. Yet Paul’s call wasn’t about calculating the cost but coming into God’s presence to do life with the Lord. How close with Jesus do you journey? Have you substituted doing life with the Lord for a split personality of straddling the fence? Trying to dancing between two different worlds, with one foot in living for self and the other for the Savior? Living with the Lord, communing with our creator is the sum total of all that we engage in, in our Christian life. Jesus didn’t tear the veil in two so we could commune in the courtyard but so that we could come in. Yet for many today we have become more comfortable doing life in the outer court than the holy of holies. Paul calls for believers to live with boldness, to advance into the inner place of peace in God’s presence. Today we have traded bold lives for boring ones choosing to live on the fringes instead of communing with the Father. Psalm 73:25-28 reminds us of the power, peace and protection of His presence “25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 27 Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. 28 But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds” “Let us draw near to God” is a call to rest in the Redeemer instead of run from Him. Many of us are living like great Old Testament runner Jonah, God wanted to bring him and the people of Nineveh near to Himself but Jonah chose to run. You may not be running from God but if you are not resting in Him your life will still result in ruin. We all know the rich young ruler who wanted to come to Jesus on his own terms and when Jesus rejected those terms, the rich young ruler walked away from God. Today you may have pushed God away because of the pain and the problems, choosing to reject His presence yet you have no peace. Are you drawing near to God or are you drowning?

• BELIEVE

The full assurance of faith means not only that I come boldly but I come believing, life with the Lord means looking past the impossible.   Today we get hung up with the probable and practical instead of the power. The full assurance of faith means that the words, “it can’t be done” do not come out of my mouth because I believe that Jesus can do the impossible. Having faith doesn’t mean being mindless, it is not some blind leap into the dark. Being a Christian does not mean that I lose the ability to think or that I no longer can look at the facts. Instead, it means my focus is on the Father no matter what the facts say. While the facts point to death faith is pointing to an empty tomb and today I chose to rest in the results of our risen Redeemer. Psalm 145:18 reminds us that “The Lord is near to all who call on him” Paul is calling us to come in faith, to trust in the finished work of the cross with the full assurance that we are forgiven. To come with a true heart not a hypocritical one, willing to surrender and serve to the Savior. Under the New Covenant believers have the privilege of drawing near to God through the blood of Jesus. Have you responded to the invitation to come in from the courtyard and fellowship with the Father?