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Always Looking Up!

 

“O our God, will You not judge them? For 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.” 2 Chronicles 20:12 NKJV

Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah, made this heartfelt cry and prayer to God, when confronted with a coalition of armies about to attack Jerusalem. Today, as Christians, when confronted with a deluge of problems, we tend to make similar prayers to God for help.

I believe God is used to such desperate prayers. He doesn’t mind hearing them, even when the situation is not as bleak as we think they are. After my last episode with back pain, I laughed at myself when I recalled my desperate prayers to God, to take away the pain. When we are uncomfortable, we tend to exaggerate our condition, and in our desperation, we would be willing to do just anything to get relief.

Jehoshaphat’s condition was genuinely bad and when he heard the news of the armies approaching Jerusalem. He panicked and ran to God! He did well. For indeed his desperate prayers and seeking God through fasting and prayers, he and his entire kingdom, yielded the desired results. God intervened mightily.

In our day to day lives, we are sometimes confronted with such situations, although some are not as desperate. The key to our peace is to know where to go, where to take our issues to, where to look for solutions. The very nature of our challenges and our quest for immediate relief can push us in the wrong directions. However, we must learn from Jehoshaphat, that the first place to go is to God. This is easier said than done.

Sometimes we find ourselves automatically looking to the people around us. A spouse, a friend, a parent or a neighbor, people who have helped us in the past. There is nothing wrong with seeking help there. The key thing is, where do you go first? The first port of call must be God. That is what shows where we put our trust. We can even test ourselves and know for sure, so that we can correct ourselves and pay more attention to our hearts and attitudes. Looking bad on a problem you were confronted with, what was your first reaction?

It is not an indictment if your first call wasn’t to God. It just helps recalibrate your mind to make a more decisive choice for God the next time around. We must always look to God first, always looking up.

This is not an easy thing, but it is what God would want. Look at David, a good example of a man who habitually sought God. David went back to God for instructions regularly and God was pleased with this. So much that He said David was a man after His heart.

How do we do this? We trust God. The same principles that apply when we seek out a trusted friend is the same that applies here. When we have walked with God, our trust in Him develops and gets stronger. Such that we don’t have to make a choice, we instinctively turn to God in our time of need.

Trust is built over time. We need to have trusted God in little things before we can trust Him in big things. We need to have experienced His help in mundane matters before we can trust Him for big things. The earlier we start, the better. Don’t rely on yourself or your money, or friends and family too much. Start building your trust in God. You will need it sooner or later. If there’s anything guaranteed, it is that we will have trouble in this world. When that trouble comes, you need to know for sure, that God’s got your back. How do you know that? By looking at the past, like David did, when confronted with Goliath.

“Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”

And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!” 1 Samuel 17:37 NKJV

 And I say to you, Go and do likewise. God be with you!

 

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