A Change of Heart
1/8/07

By Ben

I read 2 Chronicles 17-20.

We read in this section about King Jehoshaphat, who was pretty good for most
of his life, but like many of the Bible characters, has a few flaws. Today,
however, I am not going to talk about his flaws; I am going to talk about
some great things that he did. When faced with an oncoming battle, that he
would most surely lose, he sought God's help. He went to the temple and
prayed. He praised God for his power, recalled the covenant made to
Abraham, and then he made his request for help. In front of all of his
people (the people of Judah), a man in the crowd suddenly spoke the Lord's
words of comfort and power; that the Lord would fight the battle for them.
Jehoshaphat led the people in a time of worship. The next day, on the way
to the battle, Jehoshaphat reminded his troops to believe in God. And then
he did a cool thing: he appointed singers to go ahead of the army. Yes,
singers. And what did they sing, you might ask: "Give thanks to the Lord;
his faithful love endures forever!"

You can probably guess the next part of the story. When they got to the
battle, they didn't have to fight. God had taken care of it for them. The
opposing armies fought amongst themselves, killing everyone, leaving only
the plunder behind for the army of Judah to collect. God certainly was
faithful.

I don't think I've ever gone into one of my battles singing the Lord's
praises. I've never walked into a budget meeting, confronted a disruptive
child, or even consoled a disheartened friend by first singing God's
praises.

Am I scared to be that open about my faith? Perhaps. Yes, even the paid
church guy gets nervous about how to live the gospel. What kind of faith do
I have to have to be able to do that? What would doing it do for my
connection to God? How would it affect people around me? And if all of
those are positive answers, why am I so afraid to show my faith that way?
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