When we are surrounded…

Dear friends, 

First off, a big thank you for all the kind words and feed back to Russ. It meant a lot to both of us and I agree with all of your assessments of his words. I will bug him to write a post more often and I can be pretty annoying so it should work. 

Now for what is on my heart this morning. 

I was thinking recently that life on planet earth has taken on the plot of several sensational movie scripts. 

A disease that spreads all around the world with no cure and causing great conflict. 

Hurricanes and tornadoes and devastation through erratic weather. 

An insane man rousting an army and invading a country and the president of that nation rising up and refusing to run away but facing the battle with the citizens taking up arms. 

Global threats of cyber attacks on economic and energy sources. 

Media talking heads announcing one disaster after another and talk, talk, talk but nothing getting resolved. I have been alarmed by the discussion of whether Putin is of sound mind. Good grief.

He is either of sound mind and horrendously evil or completely out of his mind and heading us full on into a global war. Or a toxic mixture of all of it.

And then we can look to our own cities and towns where young people are being shot by each other and our infrastructure of roads and supply chain are crumbling. 

Or zoom in even closer to your kitchen table where siblings fight like Cain and Abel and patience is wearing thin. Concerns over motivating children to learn and trying to instill good values against a tidal wave of bad behavior everywhere and such are the days of our lives. 

We all have much to deal with and as I was trying to think and pray what I could possibly say to you to offer encouragement, 2 Chronicles 20 popped into my memory. 

It has always been my go to passage when I felt like bad things were piling up around our home and family. I don’t know why it has taken me so long to remember this solid place when the earth is shaking, but God broke through the overwhelm today and reminded me <3 

So a quick look at it and then we are off to deal with what is right in front of us as we continue to lift the needs of others to God and trust Him to act on the behalf of those who need His power to deliver them from the enemy. 

Jehoshaphat was the King of Judah when several nations came up against his country to overtake them. Ammon, Moab and “others” were coming from all directions. The intruders were described as a great multitude. 

Jehoshaphat’s reaction was healthy fear and then an even healthier decision to seek the LORD. (The God of the angel armies, the God of the heavenly host, God almighty)

He proclaimed a fast throughout Judah and all the people fasted and prayed, seeking help from God. 

Jehoshaphat prayed a beautiful prayer outlining to God all that was being done that was not right and proclaiming back to God what God had promised and what he knew God could do. 

And then he listened. 

He listened to what instructions God would give to them and he followed those instructions. They prepared for battle, but were promised they would not have to fight. They led out the procession with the praise team in the front of the army and they marched forward only to find that God was right.

He had gone before them and the enemy had defeated itself before they got there. 

The threats that we see are real and the evil that is out there is legitimate. 

But God is greater. 

How seriously will we take the need we have for His intervention? 

I encourage you to pray through 2 Chronicles 20 today and go as God leads you in prayer and praise and yes, even fasting. Tell Him what He already knows and seek Him on behalf of your current battles and on behalf of those who are under siege around the world.