What do you do when you are faced with an impossible situati
Faced with an impossible situation?
(2 Chronicles 20:1-13)
How do you usually respond when you are faced with an impossible situation?
I. Negative Responses
- Fear (v.3)
1It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. 2Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi. 3And Jehoshaphat feared,
• 54% are “afraid” or “very afraid” of being in a car crash.
• 53% are “afraid” or “very afraid” of having cancer.
• 50% are “afraid” or “very afraid” of inadequate Social Security.
• 49% are “afraid” or “very afraid” of not having enough money for retirement.
• 36% are “afraid” or “very afraid” of food poisoning from meat.
• 35% are “afraid” or “very afraid” of getting Alzheimer’s.
• 34% are “afraid” or “very afraid” of pesticides on food.
• 33% are “afraid” or “very afraid” of being a victim of individual violence.
• 32% are “afraid” or “very afraid” of being unable to pay current debts.
• 30% are “afraid” or “very afraid” of exposure to foreign viruses.
• 28% are “afraid” or “very afraid” of getting AIDS.
• 25% are “afraid” or “very afraid” of natural disasters.
Fear? Living in Iowa, we never know if a Tornado is going to come and destroy our homes. We never know if when we are driving at night a deer will jump out and destroy our car. We also never know if the doctor will tell us that we have cancer.
Ill. Kathy Harvey
Usually fear is the first response to any crisis. When we stepped out by faith and obeyed the calling of the Lord, our first response is fear. We are living in the unknown. How are we going to pay our bills? When are we going to be able to raise our support? There is fear.
Fear cripples the believer and causes the next negative response.
- Bitterness (vs. 10-11)
10And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not; 11Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit
This usually happens when we don’t get our own way.
Illustration: Ardys Elmore
II. Positive Responses
A. Seek the Lord. When you see big problems on the horizon, seek the Lord before you do anything else. What does that mean? It means to do what Jehoshaphat and Judah did. They remembered who God is (v. 6), what He did in the past (v. 7) and what He said He would do in the future (vv. 8–9). It means to trust Him and keep your eyes on Him by faith (v. 12).
and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD. 5And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court
Explanation: He set himself to seek the Lord, and, in the first place, to make him his friend. Those that would seek the Lord so as to find him, and to find favor with him, must set themselves to seek him, must do it with fixedness of thought, with sincerity of intention, and with the utmost vigor and resolution to continue seeking him. 3. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah, appointed a day of humiliation and prayer, that they might join together in confessing their sins and asking help of the Lord. Fasting from bodily refreshments, upon such extraordinary occasions, is a token of self-judging for the sins we have committed (we own ourselves unworthy of the bread we eat, and that God might justly withhold it from us), and of self-denial for the future; fasting for sin implies a resolution to fast from it, though it has been to us as a sweet morsel.
What does it mean to seek the Lord?
1. Remember who God is (v. 6)
Verse 6: And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?
God Is All-Powerful. God’s power is unlimited. He can do anything that is not inconsistent with His nature, character, and purpose (Gen. 17:1; 18:14). The only limitations on God’s power are imposed by Himself (Gen. 18:25). “Impossible” is not in God’s vocabulary. God creates and sustains all things; yet He never grows weary (Is. 40:27–31).
Ill. Abraham and Sarah
2. Remember what God has done (v.7)
7Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?
Can you count all the times that God has delivered you in the past? Jehoshaphat remembers what God did for His people in the past and that was great comfort for him.
3. Remember what God said He will do (vs. 8-9)
8And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying, 9If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.
Illustration: The apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians. He had the sentence of death.
2 Corinthians 1:8-10 8 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: 9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: 10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;
4. Remember who you are (v. 12)
12O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.
Explanation: He professes his entire dependence upon God for deliverance. Though he had a great army on foot, and well disciplined; yet he said, "We have no might against this great company, none without thee, none that we can expect any thing from without thy special presence and blessing, none to boast of, none to trust to; but our eyes are upon thee. We rely upon thee, and from thee is all our expectation. The disease seems desperate: we know not what to do, are quite at a loss, in a great strait. But this is a sovereign remedy, our eyes are upon thee, an eye of acknowledgment and humble submission, an eye of faith and entire dependence, an eye of desire and hearty prayer, an eye of hope and patient expectation. In thee, O God! do we put our trust; our souls wait on thee.’’
Ill. When I memorized Scripture at school for a scholarship.
B. Hear the Lord. God always has a special word for those who turn to Him for help. When you face a battle, spend much time in His Word and in prayer, for then He will give you that needed word of encouragement.
13And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.
God speaks to us through His Word.
Illustration: Warren in LaGrange
A woman went to her pastor for marital counseling, and after a few preliminaries, the pastor said he had a few questions that would help identify the problems if she would just answer his questions as openly as possible. When the lady agreed, he began by saying, “Do you have any grounds?” To which the lady responded, “Why, yes we do, we have about ten acres just north of town.”
“No, ma’am, that’s not what I mean. What I mean is do you have … well, do you have a grudge?”
“Oh, no, but we do have a nice little carport.”
“No, ma’am,” said the pastor, “that’s not what I mean. One more question: Does your husband ever beat you up?”
“Beat me up? Oh, no. I get up before he does just about every morning.”
In complete exasperation the pastor said, “Lady, you’re not listening to me. Why are you having trouble with your husband?”
“Well,” replied the lady, “the man just doesn’t know how to communicate.”
God’s Word must be mixed with faith!
Hebrews 4:1-2 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
20And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
C. Praise the Lord. The battle was won by the singers, standing in the most dangerous place of all—between two armies. But they sang the Lord’s praises and routed the enemy. The choir praised God after God gave the word (v. 19), before the battle (v. 21), and after the victory (vv. 26–28), a good pattern for us to follow in our praise.
In Hebrew, Berachah means “blessing” (v. 26). Even a valley can become a place of blessing if we learn how to praise the Lord. “Prayer changes things” is a familiar saying that is certainly true. But it is also true that “praise changes things.” Why? Because true praise changes people, and God can work in and through people who praise Him. True praise involves faith, hope, and love, the strongest weapons in the Christian armory.
It is amazing what praising can do!
14Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation; 15And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 17Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you. 18And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD. 19And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high.
20And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. 21And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever. 22And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. 23For 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. 24And 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. 25And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.
God does give joy even the valley. Thank God that everyday we don’t get what we deserve! All we deserve is hell.
26And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the LORD: therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day.