Unashamed Reading Plan
Check out all the previous Unashamed readings here.
Unashamed Reading Plan | Week 10 | Day 5
Prayer
As you come to spend time with Jesus, calm your mind and body until you feel fully present. Thank Jesus that he came to save you!
Bible Reading: 2 Chronicles 20:1-12
Read these verses three times slowly.
After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.
Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom,from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi). Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.
Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard and said:
“Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’
“But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
Reflection & Questions
Today’s story from 2 Chronicles is a moment where the rubber hits the road for the Israelites. They are facing an impossible situation. An enormous army is heading their way and there’s no way they have the strength to face them. We will probably never face such a situation personally, but we face struggles in our lives constantly that feel impossible.
How the Israelites respond in this passage is a great example of how a Romans 8 Christian would respond.
Firstly, they put their faith in God. “Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you,” they say. This is a declaration of worship to God and reminder to themselves. It is like Paul wrote in Romans 8, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Secondly, they admit their weakness and dependance on Him. “ For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” What a beautiful confession this is in the eyes of God! They are committing to stay faithful when there seems to be no way out. So often, we do not know what to do. We are facing impossible circumstances and seemingly without hope. But there is always a way with Him. As the Israelites declared, so do we declare, “our eyes are on you.” For as Paul wrote in Romans 8, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
- What word or phrase sticks out to you from today’s verses? Why?
- Are you facing an impossible situation? What would it look like for you to declare your faith in God and your dependance on him?
Prayer
Talk to God in response to the reading today.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
Bible Reading: 2 Chronicles 20:1-12
Read these verses three times slowly.
After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.
Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom,from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi). Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.
Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard and said:
“Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’
“But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
Reflection & Questions
Today’s reading is a long way of showing what Jehosaphat did when he and the Israelites were facing a pretty difficult situation: There is an enormous army headed their way and there’s no way they have the strength or power to face them!
So what did Jehosaphat and the Israelites do? The same things that we have been learning about this week: they put their faith in God and admitted that they were weak without Him.
In today’s verses, Jehosaphat says, “Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.” Just like Paul wrote in Romans 8, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” We’ve got GOD on our side. There is no one bigger or more powerful!
The Israelites also admit, “For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” They are showing their faithfulness, telling God that even though they don’t know what to do, they know that God does and so they will keep looking to God to help them.
Sometimes we have situations like that in life. We don’t know what to do and so we feel helpless and hopeless. But God always has a way. Just like Paul wrote in Romans 8: “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
God is bigger than our biggest fear and we will never be separated from His love so we can walk confidently and without fear even in our biggest, baddest times.
- Have you ever been in a situation that just felt like you were going to lose, no matter what you did? Did you ask God to help you?
Pray
Sometimes it’s difficult to remember that we are never alone when God is on our side. Ask God to remind you that He is with you always!
Check out more Bible Reading Plans here.
Questions?
Ed Applegate
