What do you do when you are afraid? Truly afraid? Do you worry? Fret? Stress? Take to Facebook and last out in your fears? Lash out at your loved ones under your own roof?
It’s been awhile since there has been national and global fears. But they are present. And real. Things are so very uncertain. It’s like the whole world is edgy. We like things settled, not uncertain. We like to be in one camp, and not torn between two ideals.
And then there are those times where a whole nation is afraid. This is especially true when a nation is facing an army coming against them. Even more so when a nation is outpowered, outnumbered, and facing certain terrors unknown.
This was the case of Jehoshaphat. He was given the report that vast numbers were coming against him.
“Jehoshaphat was afraid, and he resolved to seek the LORD. Then he proclaimed a fast for all Judah, who gathered to seek the LORD. They even came from all the cities of Judah to seek Him” (2 Chr 20:3-4).
When nations are in trouble, is a fast proclaimed? Is a time of seeking the LORD proclaimed? In days past that is world history. But what about today? In these times?
Jehoshaphat said this profound statement:
“We do not know what to do, but we look to You” (2 Chr 20:12).
When was the last time you heard a leader of a nation proclaim these words?
“We do not know what to do, but we look to You” (2 Chr 20:12).
In days where pridefulness is rampant, saying “we do not know what to do” comes across as weak leadership. What is worse is saying “we look to You” as that is somehow seen as intolerant and not respecting other gods.
How far we have come in only a short time.
We would do well to remember people like Joshua Chamberlain. On a smaller scale Joshua Chamberlain of Maine declared that the state have a day dedicated to “public humiliation, fasting and prayer” (here). It was to a day of dedicating oneself in humility before God.
And then there is the time in England where the nation was under great duress. Their troops were trapped in Dunkirk facing certain slaughter by the hundreds of thousands. On 23rd May, King George VI requested that the following Sunday should be observed as a National Day of Prayer. The people lined the streets to get into cathedrals to pray.
On that same day a national call went out to all fisherman and any person with a boat that could cross the channel to get to France and rescue their men. It was a Hail Mary approach. While people humbled themselves and prayed, a great flotilla raced across the tumultuous channel in one of the most daring rescues of history. The success of such a mission was staggering. Hundreds of thousands were rescued.
What do we do when we’re backed against the wall? Do we look to our government? Our military? Our healthcare system? Our leaders? Or do we look to the Lord. Have we forgotten what it is for a nation to humble themselves and say,
“We do not know what to do, but we look to You“?
