YOU

I have found life to be very interesting, haven’t you?

Strolling through life, enjoying each new day, thankful for your family, friends, job, ministry…

When all of a sudden a bomb explodes – not a literal bomb, but a situation, a threat, a fear; something unexpected, rocking your calm, peaceful world.

Years ago there was a guy, a king, name Jehoshaphat (love the name!); King in a land called Judah.

Good dude. Nice.

The Lord considered him to be a good dude as well. “…good things are found in you…and you’ve prepared your heart to seek the Lord”, are the words the prophet of God told him.

What a word to receive from the Lord! It’s like hearing Him say, “well, done, thou good and faithful servant.”

Or maybe it’s like having the Publishers’ Clearing House people knock on your door with one of their HUGE checks! If that happened to me I’d probably be up all night, every night for a week. I mean, think what could be done with all that money!

Having the assurance of God’s approval, His favor, is FAR more valuable than ALL the money in the world! But even that won’t stop trouble from coming at you; or keep a “bomb” from exploding near you.

Shortly after Jehoshaphat received the prophet’s word from God, someone else approached him with a different kind of word (2 Chronicles 20). The word went something like this: “Jehoshaphat, you’d better brace yourself! At least three nations, consisting of several hundred thousand troops, are marching against YOU at this very moment! YOU had better get ready.”

It’s a story that is fairly well known, and it ends with the good guys winning, and the bad guys killing each other. Good stuff.

But there’s one thing I want you to see. Jehoshaphat’s prayer. Here it is: 2 Chronicles 20:5-12 (I have highlighted certain words for greater clarification)

“Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, and said: “O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, ‘If disaster comes upon us — sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine — we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’ And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir — whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them — here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit.

O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

YOU. Jehoshaphat knew exactly where to look. He was told, “King, the enemy is coming for YOU.” So King Jehoshaphat figured, “if the enemy is coming for “YOU”, then let them come and meet “YOU”.

The King moved the attack’s focal point from himself to where it belonged. GOD!

If we are in Him, abiding under the shadow of the Almighty God, we are in a place beyond the enemy’s reach.

If we’ll stay in there, and not let the enemy draw us out.

It’s not that we’re beyond attacks, beyond threats, beyond trouble or major problems. But we must remember our place of refuge.

For the enemy to reach you, he must first go through “YOU”.

I hope I am getting this point across to YOU. To help, I’ll close with scriptures using the words “You Are”. Let the words help YOU see just where your help lies.

When trouble comes, the bomb explodes, and YOU feel like caving in – remember:

the YOU Who is for YOU…

O Lord God…

You are the helper of the fatherless
You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup
You are my Lord
You are holy
You are with me

You are the God of my salvation
You are the God who does wonders
You are my strength
You are my God
You are my King

You are my rock and my fortress
You are my help and my deliverer
You are my hiding place
You are my hope
You are my trust

You are more awesome than Your holy places
You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb
You are my strong refuge
You are glorified
You are good

You are more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey
You are the same, and Your years will have no end
You are the God of my strength
You are there
You are near

You are fairer than the sons of men
You are the glory of their strength
You are from everlasting
You are very great
You are my praise

You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek
You are clothed with honor and majesty
You are exalted far above all gods
You are my portion
You are my shield

You are great, and do wondrous things
You are great in counsel and mighty in work
You are the Lord our God
You are our Father
You are God

You alone are God