Lent 2010 #13 - Take Heart

Chronicles 20:1-23

After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. ²Messengers came and told Jehoshaphat, 'A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; already they are at Hazazon-tamar' (that is, En-gedi). ³Jehoshaphat was afraid; he set himself to seek the Eternal One, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. ⁴Judah assembled to seek help from the Eternal One; from all the towns of Judah they came to seek God.

5 Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of God, before the new court, ⁶and said, 'O Eternal One, God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven? Do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In your hand are power and might, so that no one is able to withstand you. ⁷Did you not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it for ever to the descendants of your friend Abraham? ⁸They have lived in it, and in it have built you a sanctuary for your name, saying, ⁹"If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgement, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house, and before you, for your name is in this house, and cry to you in our distress, and you will hear and save." ¹⁰See now, the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— ¹¹they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession that you have given us to inherit. ¹²O our God, will you not execute judgement upon them? For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.'

13 Meanwhile all the men of Judah stood before the Eternal One, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. ¹⁴Then the spirit of God came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the middle of the assembly. ¹⁵He said, 'Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Eternal One to you: "Do not fear or be dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God's. ¹⁶Tomorrow go down against them; they will come up by the ascent of Ziz; you will find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷This battle is not for you to fight; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the Eternal One on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem." Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and God will be with you.'

18 Then Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Eternal One, worshiping God. ¹⁹And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Eternal One, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.


20 They rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, 'Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Eternal One your God and you will be established; believe God's prophets.' ²¹When he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Eternal One and praise God in holy splendour, as they went before the army, saying,
'Give thanks to the Eternal One,
   for God's steadfast love endures for ever.'

²²As they began to sing and praise, the Eternal One set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. ²³For the Ammonites and Moab attacked the inhabitants of Mount Seir, destroying them utterly; and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another.


THOUGHTS: 

When troubling challenges overwhelm me, it is a rare occassion that I admit out loud that I do not know what to do. I wish I did more often, though, for then I might hear words of good news in reply: Do not fear or be dismayed, for God is with you. God's steadfast love endures forever, so take heart.

I don't exactly know what to make of the notion that these challenges are God's battles and not my own, except to wonder if letting go of the attractive but false idea that I can control everything-- and therefore acknowledging the freedom of other people and of the Living God to act-- frees me to do what I need to do. A song of thanks probably isn't a bad place to start, and at times like these requires courage-- as does waiting for the dust to clear, asking for help, accounting for what I've done and left undone, and forgiving myself and others. Praise be to God, then, who promises that we will not go the road alone.

PRAYER: 

Eternal One, friend and sustainer, we ask for comfort and strength when we cry out in distress. Grant us the courage to receive your love and salvation. In your many names we pray. Amen.

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Thoughts by Ben Masters, a graduate of George Mason University and an alum of Lutheran Campus Ministry at GMU. He is currently working at Open Arms of Minnesota in Minneapolis, through Lutheran Volunteers Corps and is a proud member of the Wellstone House.

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These devotions for young adults are provided by:

Lutheran Campus Ministry at George Mason University http://www.gmu.edu/org/lutheran

Lutheran Student Association at the University of Maryland http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~lutheran/lsa/

DC Young Adults http://www.dcyoungadults.org/

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