Thursday, November 22, 2018
2 Chronicles 20:21-22 And when he [King Jehoshaphat] had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: "Praise the LORD, For His mercy endures forever." Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.
HOW CAN I EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE? -- THANK AHEAD
This section from second Chronicles is awesome for two reasons. The LORD is awesome in all He does, and Jehoshaphat's faith is awesome in all that he does. It helps to know the context a bit. Verse one sets the stage by revealing the problem, "It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat."
The people of Judah were totally outnumbered. Jehoshaphat was afraid. And yet, we see him encouraged by a man named Jahaziel, whom "the Spirit of the LORD came upon" (verse 14), and spoke of their victory through the LORD. Outnumbered, but NOT outmatched. In reality, Judah's enemies would prove to be outmatched when "the LORD . . . defeated" them (verse 22 above). We see the LORD's awesomeness again!
If we pay attention to this amazing chapter we also see the awesome faith and confidence of Jehoshaphat and the believers. Even before they went to battle, outnumbered and seemingly outmatched, they were "thinking ahead" and already "thanking ahead" for what their faith knew the LORD would do for them! Now that's an expression of gratitude!
We really aren't so different. We have the opportunity NOW, on this Thanksgiving Day to "think ahead" about our victory already won for us through our LORD, Jesus Christ! We can thank Him now as we march into battle each day against the world, the devil, and our own sinful flesh. We already have the victory won for us through Jesus' death for our sins and putting death to death in His resurrection! Right now, we can thank Jesus ahead of time for eternal salvation and bringing us safely home!
