It’s clear—the right path to take
From the vantage place where I sit and write, I have a clear view out the open front door. Outside the house and across the drive, there lies a grassy field, a place where it is cut, cured, gathered into bales for winter feed for livestock. For the past twenty years, there has been a path that runs directly through that hayfield, one that angles across, running from our driveway to the country road where we live. I love this path and have often used it to walk to my neighbor’s house. Not many days ago, while I sat on my front porch, a young elementary school boy (my neighbor’s middle child) came walking across that path to bring me some garden vegetables he wished to share with me. I made an exchange: the bag of vegetables for a candy bar that I had in my kitchen drawer. We both left the transaction, happy.
As time has passed, many might wonder why my husband continues to mow down the grass, keeping the path, when it runs directly through the expanse of a hay field, but it’s clear why he has continually kept the path. We know (and our neighbors too) that this is the right path to take.
In the Old Testament, we read a narrative, one that described how the LORD made a way for His people when there seemed to be no way out of a dire situation. We read these words of Jahaziel,
“the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph; and he said,
(The Second Book of the Chronicles 20: 14b-15 NASB)
“Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude,
for the battle is not yours but God’s.”
The Ammonites and the Moabites were attacking the Israelites, and they (the children of God) seemed outnumbered, out positioned, and under-advantaged. King Jehoshaphat did not know what to do, so he did the only action possible: he looked up, looking to God in prayer. If you have studied the Israelites exodus from Egypt and the journey to the land God had promised them, then you will recall the many times the LORD instructed His people to completely destroy their enemy and the many times they did not. Repeatedly, because they did not do EXACTLY as the LORD commanded, the children of Israel suffered. This narrative in The Second Book of the Chronicles 20 reveals a perfect example of how people need faith in God. Without a doubt, we will face life-situations when we will not know what to do, where to go, or how a situation will be resolved. It is not possible to see the future, but it is possible to know the God who does, who can see the future. We are called to walk by faith, praying:
Lord God, I do not know what to do,
BUT I KNOW WHERE TO LOOK—UP TO YOU.
Father, I do not know where to go or which way to turn,
BUT I KNOW WHO TO FOLLOW—YOU.
My Savior Christ Jesus, I do not know how all this will end,
BUT I KNOW THE GOD WHO WORKS ALL THINGS FOR GOOD.
Their king, Jehoshaphat, was a man of faith, who knew God would prevail in the situation that (seemed) had no positive outcome. He prayed,
“O our God, will You not judge them?
(The Second Book of the Chronicles 20: 12-13 & 18-19 NASB)
For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us;
nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”
All Judah was standing before the LORD,
with their infants, their wives and their children.”
. . .
“Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping the LORD.
The Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel, with a very loud voice.”
- When we give ourselves to the LORD GOD, then we are to completely trust Him.
- When we ask the Lord Jesus Christ to save us, then we are to fully follow Him.
- When we seek the guidance of God’s Holy Spirit, then we are to lay aside our will for His.
The resolution of this narrative between the Israelites and their enemies is amazing, almost unbelievable.
“When they began singing and praising, the LORD set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were routed.”
(The Second Book of the Chronicles 20: 22 NASB)
Not only were the Ammonites and Moabites and the inhabitants of Mount Seir completely destroyed, BUT THEY WERE DESTROYED BY ONE ANOTHER.
The LORD caused the enemies of His people to turn in confusion and fight against themselves, killing the warriors of all the enemies.
“When Judah came to the lookout of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude, and behold, they were corpses lying on the ground, and no one had escaped.”
(The Second Book of the Chronicles 20: 24 NASB)
And get this!
God even made it possible for the warring armies to provide the necessary supplies for His people. The Israelites gathered the spoils of the battle, “more than they could carry. And they were three days taking the spoil because there was so much.” (The Second Book of the Chronicles 20: 25b NASB)
There is a melody that is so applicable to the way the LORD works through our situations and what should always be our position as He does.
Pause to enjoy the melody sung by Rachel Purcell “Show Up.”
When we do not know what to do, AND when we do not know where to go or which way to turn, AND when do not know how a certain situation will end, we are to pray to Father God, we are to praise God, and we are to trust the LORD.
KNOW WHERE TO LOOK—UP TO HIM!
KNOW WHO TO FOLLOW—THE LORD!
AND KNOW THE GOD WHO WORKS ALL THINGS FOR GOOD—THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!
God is guiding your life for your good. Yes, He is working in ways that cannot be seen—yet. God has not forgotten or lost sight of what you are facing. Stay faithful and keep trusting and believing.
The LORD is faithful to protect and carry you through every season.
It’s clear why GOD has continually kept the path before us, and we know that it is the right path to take.
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
(The Letter of Paul to the Romans 8: 28 NASB)