When Anxiety Takes Hold

2 Chronicles 20:1–30

The day may have begun like any other day in Jerusalem.

Jehoshaphat sat upon the throne of Judah.

Decisions waited for him.

Officials moved through the palace.

Beyond its walls, merchants conducted their business, laborers worked, children played, and soldiers guarded the city.

Then a messenger arrived.

We don’t know whether he had ridden through the night.

We don’t know how breathless he was when he entered the king’s presence.

But we know the message he carried.

“There cometh a great multitude against thee.”

An army was coming.

No—not merely an army.

The children of Moab and the children of Ammon had joined themselves with others, forming one great invading force.

And they were coming for Judah.

Then came the detail that changed everything.

“Behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi.”

Engedi!

They were already on the western shore of the Dead Sea.

The enemy wasn’t gathering in some distant land.

They were already near, moving through the wilderness toward Jerusalem.

There was no time to raise a larger army.

There was no time to build stronger walls.

There was no time to form an alliance with another nation.

And Jehoshaphat was the king.

Everyone would look to him.

His commanders would wait for orders.

His soldiers would expect a strategy.

Fathers and mothers would trust him to protect their homes.

Children would sleep that night without understanding the danger drawing closer.

A king was supposed to know what to do.

But Jehoshaphat didn’t know what to do.

Scripture doesn’t hide what was happening inside him.

It doesn’t portray him as untouched, or untroubled, or unafraid.

The Bible simply says, “And Jehoshaphat feared.”

Before he was a king standing before a nation, he was just a man standing before something greater than himself.

He could feel the responsibility, but he couldn’t control the outcome.

He knew the danger, but he didn’t know the answer.

Fear had entered the palace.

Yet Jehoshaphat did something important with that fear.

He didn’t allow it to drive him into hiding.

He didn’t disguise it beneath empty confidence.

He didn’t rush into battle merely to prove that he was strong.

The Bible says that he “set himself to seek the LORD.”

A command traveled from Jerusalem throughout the cities and villages of Judah.

The nation was to fast.

Soon the roads leading toward Jerusalem began to fill with people.

They came out of every city to seek help from the Lord.

Picture them gathering in the court of the Temple.

Government officials stood beside farmers.

Soldiers stood beside merchants.

Old men leaned upon their staffs.

Mothers held their little ones close.

Fathers looked toward the king while wondering what might happen to their families.

Verse 13 captures the scene.

“And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.”

The enemy was advancing, but Judah was standing before the Lord.

No one in that gathering possessed the answer.

No one knew how the next few days would unfold.

They only knew that a great multitude was coming and that they didn’t have the power to stop it.

Then Jehoshaphat stepped forward.

The king who could not give his people a military answer began to pray.

“O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven?”

Before Jehoshaphat spoke about the army that was coming, he spoke about the God who was already reigning.

“And rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen?” Moab had an army.

Ammon had an army.

But above every advancing army stood the throne of Almighty God.

“And in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?”

Jehoshaphat remembered what God had done.

He remembered how God had given this land to the descendants of Abraham.

He remembered the sanctuary that stood before them.

He remembered God’s promise that, when trouble came, His people could cry unto Him and He would hear and help.

Then Jehoshaphat named the danger.

He spoke to God about the people who were coming to cast Judah out of the land God had given them.

“O our God, wilt thou not judge them?”

Then, surrounded by the people who were depending upon him, the king openly confessed what no king would ordinarily want to admit.

“For we have no might against this great company that cometh against us.”

We’re not strong enough.

“Neither know we what to do.”

We don’t have a plan.

We don’t have the answer.

We can’t control what happens next.

Then Jehoshaphat added one final sentence.

“But our eyes are upon thee.”

The army was still coming.

The danger hadn’t disappeared.

Jehoshaphat still didn’t know what tomorrow would bring.

But when he didn’t know what to do, he knew where to look.

**There are moments in every life when that is the most honest faith we can express.

“Lord, I don’t know what to do, but mine eyes are upon Thee.”

Anxiety often takes hold when we face something that matters deeply, recognize that we’re not strong enough to control it, and can’t see what will happen next.

Our minds begin racing from what’s happening now to everything that might happen next.

Jehoshaphat’s experience shows us four movements of faith when anxiety confronts us with something we can’t control.

I. Recognize What Anxiety Reveals

Verse 3 says, “And Jehoshaphat feared.”

That statement doesn’t mean Jehoshaphat possessed no faith.

It means he understood the seriousness of the news he had received.

The first feeling of fear isn’t necessarily sinful.

Fear is a natural human response to perceived danger, uncertainty, or pain.

However, what we do with that fear matters.

Fear may alert us to a problem, but it was never meant to become the master of our hearts.

Anxiety may begin as an alarm, but it must become an invitation—an invitation to seek the Lord.

A. A Threat We See

The threat confronting Judah was real.

Jehoshaphat wasn’t imagining an army that didn’t exist.

He wasn’t exaggerating a minor inconvenience.

A great multitude was already approaching.

This is important because not every anxious concern is imaginary or unreasonable.

Sometimes the diagnosis is serious.

Sometimes the relationship is strained.

Sometimes the money really isn’t there.

Sometimes the deadline is approaching.

Sometimes the future is genuinely uncertain.

Biblical faith doesn’trequire us to pretend that painful realities are harmless.

Prayer is not the practice of closing our eyes to reality and hoping it disappears.

Faith looks honestly at the danger while refusing to look at it apart from God.

Jehoshaphat didn’t deny the enemy’s presence.

He brought that enemy into the presence of God.

There is a difference between acknowledging a danger and surrendering our minds to it.

We can say, “This is serious,” without concluding, “Therefore, everything is hopeless.”

We can say, “This may hurt,” without concluding, “Therefore, God has abandoned me.”

We might say, “I don’t know what will happen,” without concluding, “Therefore, no one is in control of what happens.”

Fear tells us that something is beyond our control.

Faith reminds us that it’s not beyond God’s control.

Anxiety reveals a threat that we see! Also…

B. A Weakness We Feel

Jehoshaphat prayed, “We have no might against this great company that cometh against us.”

Anxiety often brings us face-to-face with our limitations.

We realize that we don’t possess enough strength, knowledge, money, or time to guarantee the outcome we desire.

We may be able to fix small parts of our lives for a while.

Then something happens that reminds us how little power we ever truly possessed in the first place.

But Jehoshaphat didn’t pretend to possess strength he didn’t have.

He confessed, “We have no might.”

There are burdens that God never intended us to carry in our own strength.

Sometimes we’re exhausted not merely because the situation is heavy, but because we’re trying to be sufficient for something that was meant to reveal our need for God.

Anxiety reveals the threst we see, and the weakness we feel, but it also reveals the…

C. A Control We Lack

Jehoshaphat continued, “Neither know we what to do.”

Anxiety frequently intensifies when we cannot answer two questions.

“What’s going to happen?”

“What can I do to prevent it?”

We call it preparing, but often we’re rehearsing disasters.

We call it solving the problem, but often we’re trying to control an outcome that belongs to God.

Responsible concern asks, “What faithful action can I take?”

Consuming worry asks, “How can I guarantee every possible outcome?”

What am I afraid of losing?

What outcome do I believe I must control?

Where am I depending upon my own strength?

What future am I trying to live before it arrives?

We can’t bring our fear honestly to God until we’re willing to recognize what it’s saying.

So recognize what anxiety reveals, and then…

II. Redirect Your Eyes to God

Jehoshaphat’s first reaction was fear, but fear didn’t become his final direction.

Verse 3 says that he “set himself to seek the LORD.”

That phrase suggests intentionality.

He deliberately turned his attention from the approaching enemy to the reigning God.

Anxiety continually redirects our attention toward the threat.

Again and again, faith must redirect our eyes toward God.

A. Remember Who God Is

Jehoshaphat began, “Art not thou God in heaven?”

He didn’t begin by explaining the size of the army.

He began by remembering the greatness of God.

Anxiety magnifies a threat until it fills our entire field of vision.

We examine it from every angle.

We think about it when we awaken.

We carry it through the day.

We take it to bed with us at night.

The more we stare at it, the larger it seems to become.

Prayer doesn’t deny the size of the problem.

Prayer restores our view of the greatness of God.

Jehoshaphat remembered that God was in Heaven.

He remembered that God ruled over every kingdom.

He remembered that power and might were in God’s hand.

The invading army hadn’t removed God from His throne.

The frightening news hadn’t weakened His power.

The Lord was already present in the tomorrow that Jehoshaphat feared.

We need that same truth.

God has never paced the floor of Heaven wondering what He should do.

He has never received unexpected news.

He has never lost authority over the circumstances surrounding one of His children.

Isaiah 26:3 KJV

3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on thee: Because he trusteth in thee.

Peace is connected to where the mind is stayed.

If the mind remains fixed upon everything that might go wrong, anxiety will tighten its grip.

But when the mind returns to who God is, fear is no longer the only voice speaking.

So Remember who God is…

B. Recall What God Has Done

Jehoshaphat remembered God’s past faithfulness.

He recalled how God had given the land to the descendants of Abraham.

He remembered how the sanctuary had been built in God’s name.

He remembered the promise that God would hear His people when they cried unto Him.

The king could not yet see what God would do, but he could remember what God had already done.

We are not approaching a God who has never helped us before.

Looking backward at God’s faithfulness gives us courage to face forward into uncertainty.

This doesn’t mean that God will resolve every difficulty in the same way.

It means His character has not changed.

The God who was faithful yesterday hasn’t become unreliable today.

The God who carried you through the last valley won’t abandon you at the entrance of this one.

Remember who God Is

Recall what God has done, then..

C. Request What You Need

Jehoshaphat prayed, “O our God, wilt thou not judge them?”

He named the danger.

He described what the enemy intended to do.

He asked God to intervene.

1 Peter 5:7 KJV

7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

We are invited to bring all our care to Him.

What’s large enough to occupy your mind is important enough to bring before God.

Philippians 4:6 KJV

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

God doesn’t command us merely to stop thinking about our concerns.

He tells us where to take them.

Prayer turns anxious thoughts into specific requests.

Instead of repeatedly asking, “What if this happens?” we can pray, “Lord, give me wisdom for the decision before me.”

Instead of rehearsing, “I can’t handle tomorrow,” we can pray, “Lord, give me the grace I need for today.”

Instead of asking, “How can I control this person?” we can pray, “Lord, work in the heart that I can’t reach.”

Remember who God is

Recall what God has done

Request What you Need, and then…

D. Rest Your Eyes on Him

Jehoshaphat concluded, “But our eyes are upon thee.”

That is the heart of this message.

When you don’t know what to do, you can still know where to look.

Fixing our eyes upon God doesn’t mean we stop seeing the problem.

It means the problem is no longer the only thing we see.

Peter walked on the water while his eyes were fixed upon Christ.

When he focused upon the wind and waves, he began to sink.

The storm had been present during every step, but the focus of his attention changed.

Anxiety demands that we stare continually at what might happen.

Faith turns our eyes again and again toward the One who will always be there no matter what happens.

We may have to redirect our eyes many times an hour.

That’s not failure.

That is the repeated work of faith.

Ok, Recognize what Anxiety reveals, then redirect your eyes to God, then what?

III. Respond to Your Responsibility

As Judah stood before the Lord, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel.

God answered their prayer.

Verse 15 says, “Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”

God didn’t give Jehoshaphat control of the entire outcome.

He gave him instructions for the next step.

So, respond to your responsibility…the first thing is to…

A. Hear What God Says

When anxiety takes hold, our minds fill with imagined voices.

We imagine what someone might say.

We predict the worst possible report.

We assume that one painful event must lead to another.

Soon we’re reacting emotionally to conversations that never occurred and outcomes that haven’t happened.

Judah needed to stop and hear what God had actually said.

We need to do the same.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:34

Matthew 6:34 KJV

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Christ wasn’t forbidding responsible planning.

He was warning against allowing tomorrow’s possible troubles to consume the strength that God has provided for today.

We don’t need strength for every imagined tomorrow.

We need grace for today’s obedience.

So stop and hear what God says…then …

B. Stand Where God Places You

God told Judah, “Set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you.”

Standing still didn’t mean they had to stay at home and ignore the approaching army.

No, God told them, “To morrow go ye down against them.”

They had a place to stand and a responsibility to fulfill.

Faith is not passive.

Trusting God doesn’t mean neglecting the telephone call we need to make, the appointment we need to keep, the apology we need to offer, or the work we need to complete.

It means we do what God has placed before us without pretending we control everything that follows.

A driver traveling through heavy fog can’t see the entire road.

The headlights may reveal only a short distance ahead.

But that light is enough to continue moving.

If the driver refuses to move until he can see the entire journey, he’ll remain where he is.

God often doesn’t illuminate the entire road.

He gives enough light for the next faithful step.

You may not know everything that has to be done next month.

But what’s God placed before you today?

Hear What God is Saying…Stand where God places you, and then…

C. Take the Next Step

Verse 20 says that Judah “rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa.”

Imagine that morning.

The enemy was still present.

The danger was still real.

Judah didn’t possess a detailed explanation of how God would deliver them.

But they arose and went forward.

Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established.”

Faith moved before the outcome became visible.

Several years ago, my brother and I had built a carpet-cleaning business that allowed us to work, pay college bills, and even to help others.

Then an accident involving a semi-truck destroyed everything we had built.

In a moment, the business was gone.

I couldn’t continue working as I had.

I couldn’t continue college normally.

I became dependent upon my sister Aimee, and I didn’t understand what God was doing with my future.

At the time, I could not see the road ahead.

I could only see what had been lost.

Looking back, however, I can see that God was using even that painful disruption to move me out of a situation that I shouldn’t have been in, eventually lead me to California, and continued preparing me for ministry.

That doesn’t mean the loss was easy.

It doesn’t mean every question was answered immediately.

It meant God was directing my life when I could not interpret His direction.

There will be times when we can’t understand what God is doing.

We may be able to take only one obedient step at a time.

But the fact that we can’t see His whole plan doesn’t mean He has no plan.

Ok, First Recognized What Anxiety Reveals

second, Redirect your eyes to God

third Respond to your responsibility

and then lastly this morning…

IV. Release What Belongs to God

Judah had a responsibility, but the result was never theirs to control.

They could seek the Lord.

They could listen.

They could march.

They could stand in their appointed place.

But they could not produce the victory.

No,

A. The Battle Is His

God said, “The battle is not yours, but God’s.”

This promise was spoken to Judah concerning this particular battle.

We shouldn’t twist it into a guarantee that every difficult situation will end miraculously or painlessly.

Sometimes God does removes what we fear.

Sometimes He limits it according to His wisdom.

But sometimes He sustains us through it.

But in every case, God remains Lord over the result that we could never produce or prevent.

There are responsibilities God has assigned to us, but there are outcomes He has reserves for Himself.

Anxiety tries to cross that boundary.

It reaches into God’s hands and attempts to hold what only He can carry.

We become exhausted trying to carry tomorrow’s results with today’s strength.

We just need to submit to Him and realized not only is the Battle His, but …

B. The Outcome Is His

Verse 21 says that Jehoshaphat appointed singers unto the Lord.

They went before the army saying, “Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.”

They praised God even before they saw the victory.

They were not praising because the danger was imaginary.

They were praising because God’s mercy was more enduring than the danger.

Verse 22 says, “And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir.”

By the time Judah arrived at the watchtower in the wilderness, the battle was over.

The invading armies had turned against one another.

23 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. 24 And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.

Judah had marched to the battlefield, but God had produced the victory.

We don’t know whether God will answer our prayers in the way that we imagine.

But we know that the outcome remains in wiser hands than ours.

Faith isn’t confidence that nothing painful will ever happen.

Faith is confidence that nothing can place us beyond God’s presence, His authority, or His care.

Remember The Battle Is His

The Outcome Is His

But remember…

C. The Praise Begins Now

Judah praised before the answer was visible.

Praise interrupts anxiety’s assumption that the threat is the greatest reality in our lives.

Anxiety says, “Look at everything that might go wrong.”

Praise says, “Look at everything that remains true about God.”

He’s still good.

He’s still wise.

He’s still powerful.

He’s still present.

His mercy still endureth forever.

Thanksgiving does not require us to call pain pleasant.

It requires us to remember that pain has not erased the goodness of God.

When our minds begin running through everything we fear, we can deliberately run through everything we know about God.

“God has not left me.”

“God will give me wisdom when I need it.”

“God’s grace will be sufficient.”

“God will remain faithful.”

“I don’t know what He will do, but I know who He is.”

Remember the Battle and the Outcome are His, So the Praise begins now!

But that’s not quite the end or the story yet!

D. The Rest Comes From Him

After the victory, Jehoshaphat and the people returned to Jerusalem with joy.

Verse 30 says, “So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about.”

The chapter begins with enemies closing in from every side.

It ends with God giving rest on every side.

Notice that Jehoshaphat didn’t manufacture that rest.

“His God gave him rest.”

The peace of God isn’t something we can force ourselves to feel.

It is the fruit of bringing our cares to God,

fixing our minds upon truth,

fulfilling our present responsibility,

and releasing the outcome into His hands.

Philippians 4:7 KJV

7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

That peace does not always come because the problem has disappeared.

It comes because the heart has found a safe place to rest while the problem still remains.

Conclusion

Perhaps you came this morning with an army approaching.

Maybe there’s something you can’t stop thinking about.

You don’t know what will happen.

You don’t feel strong enough to face it.

You don’t know what to do.

God may not reveal the entire outcome tonight.

He may not show you every turn in the road.

But He invites you to do what Jehoshaphat did.

Recognize what your anxiety is revealing.

Redirect your eyes toward God.

Respond to the responsibility He has placed before you.

Release what belongs to Him.

Perhaps the most faithful prayer you can pray tonight is the prayer of Jehoshaphat.

“Lord, I have no might against this.”

“Lord, I don’t know what to do.”

“But mine eyes are upon Thee.”

What has God asked you to do today?

What outcome are you trying to control?

What burden are you carrying that belongs in His hands?

You don’t have to solve tomorrow today.

You don’t need strength for every possibility your mind can imagine.

You need grace for the next faithful step.

When you don’t know what to do, fix your eyes upon the One who does

The battle is His.

The outcome is His.

And the rest that your heart needs comes from Him.