Looking for Answers (Friday Devotional)

“O our God, will you not execute judgment 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.”

- 2 Chronicles 20:12

Every time we’ve gone on a vacation the last few years—whether by ourselves, with my side of the family, or with my in-laws—Lindsey has planned the trip from start to finish. She buys the plane tickets, she finds where we’ll be staying, she looks up the local attractions, and she sets the itinerary. She is our unpaid travel agent.

But no matter how well-planned the trip is, there’s always going to be a snag somewhere—a flight will be delayed, a rental car won’t be ready, a reservation will get canceled, etc. Life still happens, even on vacation, and you can’t plan for everything. And when such problems arise, the response of everyone in the family—all of us fully functioning adults, mind you—is the same: we look at Lindsey. We don’t have the answers or the plan, but we trust that she will.

That was the attitude King Jehoshaphat had toward God when the enemies of Judah prepared to invade his kingdom. Outnumbered and overwhelmed, the king knew that neither his wits nor his weapons were enough to overcome the enemy. So in a spirit of humility and devotion, he called for a nationwide fast and came to God with one of the most sincere prayers you’ll ever read in Scripture: “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

Sometimes you don’t feel equipped for the moment. Sometimes you don’t have all the answers you need. We tend to feel ashamed in those moments, to dwell on our own weaknesses, fears, and shortcomings. But Jehoshaphat offers us a lesson in faithfulness—especially in those times, the most important thing is not that you know what to do, but that you know who is Lord.

So when your plans go awry and your good intentions give way to bad results, take a page out of the king’s book and allow your bewilderment to be transformed into faith. Because what Jehoshaphat showed in crisis is the same thing I’ve learned on vacation: sometimes the most important thing is not what you know, it’s who you trust.