“What To Do When You Don’t Know What To Do”
6/16/24
2 Chronicles 20: 1-4,12 “It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat. 2 Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi). 3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.”
Then Jehoshaphat prayed to God saying, “…we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”
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There are those times for us all when we are faced with a dilemma or problem we just have no answer for.
We don’t know what to do, what action to take, which way to turn. Paul described it as,
“…troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;”—2 Cor. 4:8
Troubled and perplexed describes it!
In this kind of trial we often don’t have:
the strength to fight it,
the wisdom to respond to it,
the stamina to outlast it,
or the inner desire to stay in the battle.
Our own inner resources reach the breaking point and we say with the prophet Elijah when he was in a similar trial,
“It is enough, Lord,” or as the NLT puts it, “I have had enough, Lord!”
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In a classic example as we read in our text, one day the King of Judah, Jehoshaphat, received word that three armies were coming against him in one massive assault.
In the natural, Judah was toast.
Vastly outnumbered, there was no hope for a military victory in the natural.
Three “armed to the hilt” armies were headed their way unified under one goal—completely destroy Judah!
They had no warning and no time to prepare.
This was a 911 situation, a code blue.
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In the midst of this seemingly impossible dilemma, Jehoshaphat cries out to God with the words,
“We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”—2 Chr 20:12
Now there’s an honest prayer, devoid of any fancy religious talk!
Translated it was “HELP!”
Not knowing what to do, Jehoshaphat turned to what he DID know to do.
And the way he responded is the same way we can respond to a similar “don’t know what to do” situation.
FIRST,
I. He sought the Lord
“And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord…and all of Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord.”—2 Chr. 20:3
Though initially afraid and shaken, Jehoshaphat didn’t allow fear to paralyze him.
He immediately turned his gaze toward heaven:
“Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord.”
He did what God would later exhort His people through Isaiah to do:
“Fear not [there is nothing to fear], for I am with you; do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties, yes, I will help you; yes, I will hold you up and retain you with My [victorious] right hand of rightness and justice.”—Isaiah 41:10
We see here that fear was a false prophet—which fear typically is.
Fear predicts disaster, a bad outcome, catastrophe and trouble.
Fear paints everything in dark colors of doom and gloom.
But faith in God predicts victory, peace, and supernatural breakthrough!
Again, I think of Isaiah’s words to God’s people:
“You’re my servant, serving on my side. I’ve picked you. I haven’t dropped you.’ Don’t panic. I’m with you. There’s no need to fear for I’m your God. I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you. I’ll hold you steady, I’ll keep a firm grip on you.”—Isaiah 41:10 Message
So the first thing Jehoshaphat DID know to do was to look up to God for help!
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SECOND,
II. He rehearsed the power and promises of God
2 Chr. 20:5-6 “Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord in front of the new courtyard, 6 and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven? And do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand, there is no one able to take a stand against You.”
He’s not focused on the problem, but on God’s greatness!
God—You’re in total sovereign control of all kings and kingdoms, and you’re in control of the armies coming against us.
So Jehoshaphat confidently states: “There is no one able to take a stand against You!”
TRANSLATED: We may be outnumbered in the natural, but we have the clear advantage with You on our side!
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In our New Testament, Paul the Apostle writes,
“What can we ever say to such wonderful things as these? If God is on our side, who can ever be against us?”—Ro. 8:31
So Jehoshaphat looked up to God, and then focused on the power and promises of God.
When you don’t know what to do, that’s what you do!
And God heard his prayer and sent a prophet with encouraging words:
2 Chr. 20:15,17 “Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem, and you, O king Jehoshaphat! The Lord says, ‘Don’t be afraid! Don’t be paralyzed by this mighty army! For the battle is not yours, but God’s…You will not need to fight! Take your places; stand quietly and see the incredible rescue operation God will perform for you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem! Don’t be afraid or discouraged! Go out there tomorrow, for the Lord is with you!’”
In spiritual warfare Satan is out to discourage you, but God always encourages!
Fear predicts disaster, but faith predicts victory!
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THIRD,
III. He armed himself with spiritual weaponry
Jehoshaphat did something that, in the natural, looked completely insane.
Vs. 21 “After consulting with the leaders of the people, he determined that there should be a choir leading the march, clothed in sanctified garments and singing the song ‘Praise the Lord, for his mercy endures forever’ as they walked along praising and thanking the Lord!”
Jehoshaphat faced down three armies with a choir on the front lines singing church songs,
“Praise the Lord, for his mercy endures forever!”
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Somehow King Jehoshaphat understood what the Apostle Paul later wrote about:
2 Cor. 10:4 “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”
You likely know the rest of the story:
Vs. 22-24 “And at the moment they began to sing and to praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to begin fighting among themselves, and they destroyed each other! 23 For the Ammonites and Moabites turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. And when they had finished that job, they turned against each other!”
Their enemies completely self destructed in the presence of praise!
God fought for them and they held their peace!
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So when you don’t know what to do,
BOW DOWN before God and seek Him.
REMEMBER his power and promises.
LEAN ON the weapons of our warfare—prayer, praise, and His Word.
LET’S PRAY