READING: 2 Chronicles 19-20, John 13:21-38
“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
2 Chronicles 20:12
It was a Friday in September of 2001, and I was teaching a seminary class. As one of the assignments for the class, the students were required to memorize 2 Chronicles 20:12 for the coming week: “O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” That verse is the prayer of King Jehoshaphat when three armies had allied against his troops and were preparing to attack. Fear had gripped the king, and he called his nation to prayer and fasting. So numerous were the enemy troops that the people of God felt powerless. Outnumbered, seemingly helpless, and having little idea what to do, Jehoshaphat, though, put his eyes on God. He may have thought he did not know what to do, but his turning his eyes to God was exactly the right step to take.
I remember well that Friday in September, particularly because it was the Friday before 9/11 when Osama Bin Laden and his forces attacked our nation. We were not powerless that day – we had the mightiest military anywhere – but it felt like we were without strength and power. An unexpected enemy attack on our home soil, coupled with the confusion of all the events of that day, caused many of us to say, “We don’t know what to do.” For the believer, however, turning to God was again the right move. Throughout the next week, my students and I quoted 2 Chronicles 20:12b over and over again: “We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
Perhaps that’s where you are today. Your child is wayward, and you don’t know what to do. The dollars are too few, and the bills are too many. Your church is struggling. Your job is nothing but drudgery, but you’re not sure what next steps to take. Health issues are complicated. You’re seeking the Lord’s will, and you don’t have clarity yet. I could probably list hundreds of more scenarios of life smacking us around, and our having too little understanding of the next steps to take. Yet at the same time, today’s text tells us that we do indeed know what to do when we think we don’t know what to do: keep our eyes on God.
So, stay in the Word. Keep praying. Be faithful to your local church. Turn away from your sin. Lock your eyes on the Father, and keep them there.
ACTION STEPS:
- Using a Bible handbook or an Internet search, focus on promises that God has given us.
- Look to God, and ask Him to help you keep looking to Him.
PRAYER: “Father, my eyes are on You.”
TOMORROW’S READING: 2 Chronicles 21-22, John 14