Jehoshaphat aligned himself with the evil King Ahab of the Northern Kingdom. He had poor taste in picking friends. After Ahab was killed in battle, the nations turned against Jehoshaphat.  Three nations combined their forces and advanced against his kingdom. He was left to face his enemies all by himself. What could he do?

Well, first of all, he came to his senses. We read, “Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and ?proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. ” Jehoshaphat repented from his pursuit of friendship with the world, and turned back to God. Isn’t it interesting that it often takes a calamity in our lives to turn our hearts to seek God.

In the depths of the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln called for special days of public repentance and prayer. Our need for repentance is no less today. What does repentance mean? Repentance means to change our thinking and our way of living. It means to turn from our sins and to commit ourselves to God and His will. Over 2700 years ago the Old Testament prophet Isaiah declared “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He will freely pardon” (Isaiah 55:6–7, NIV). Those words are as true today as they were over two and a hall millennia ago.

The Lord saved Jehoshaphat. He will save us.

Chuck
“In the same way, you younger men must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, serve each other in humility, for ‘God opposes the proud but favors the humble.’” 1 Peter 5:5(NLT)