20

Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa.... (2 Chronicles 20:20 NLT)

This verse is found in the midst of what is probably my favorite story of the Old Testament.

When Jehoshaphat became king of Judah, he set his heart to follow God.

As often happens, the enemies of Judah banded together in an effort to defeat him.

Jehoshaphat was terrified of the vast army and begged the Lord for guidance.
God simply told him to march out against them. 

And Jehoshaphat did.

Instead of putting his best warriors on the front lines, however, he appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. 

When the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa early the next morning, they went out singing.

Give thanks to the Lord; His faithful love endures forever!

At that very moment scripture says the Lord caused the armies that were gathered against Judah to start fighting among themselves.

When the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all their enemies had been defeated.

Not a single one escaped. 

They gathered the plunder and called the field where their enemies lay, the Valley of Blessing.

Even though the obstacles before us today may seem overwhelming and insurmountable, if we will march forward....and start singing.

There's no telling what God might do.

May we all find ourselves in a Valley of Blessing today.

19

Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. Rescue me from my enemies, Lord; I run to you to hide me. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing. (Psalm 143:8-10 NLT) 

When we try to walk on the path our Heavenly Father shows us, it's easy for us mere humans to lose our footing.

His guidance often leads us against our natural tendencies.

He shows us to an uphill road that we would never have chosen on our own.

When the journey forward doesn't go exactly the way we thought it would, it's natural for us to wonder if we took a wrong turn somewhere along the way.

If we're not careful, we allow our doubt to lead us in circles.

We buy into the lie that God grows weary of giving us the same instruction over and over.

But He doesn't.

Our Heavenly Father never tires of our need for assurance, or our pleas for guidance.

He wants us to come to Him each morning and ask for His help like the Psalmist did.

He will show us where to walk as often as we need Him to, so that we can move forward on a firm footing instead of backwards in doubt. 

Our Father never promised us an easy journey, He simply promised that it would be worth the struggle.

Our path may be tough today, but if we keep moving forward, we will eventually see the mountaintop view.

May we all move forward today.

18

If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night – but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you. (Psalm 139:7-12 NLT)

Though I became a Christian early in my life there have been many times since then when I have wrapped myself up so tightly in the darkness around me that I wanted nothing more than to hide in the depths of it.

For years, I ran as far as I could from the outstretched hand of my Heavenly Father that beckoned me home.

But even in the very darkest seasons of my life His hand was always there guiding me.

His strength was always there supporting me.

A few years ago, I was asked to give the testimony of my life to a group of ladies.

I wanted to tell them about all the wonderful things God has done in my life since I quit running quite so much and began following after Him at least a little more often.

But He kept calling me back to those dark places.

It was only then that I realized I could see His hand just as clearly in the seasons of darkness as I could in the seasons of light.

I could see His strength supporting me even when I deserved it the least.

That is the beauty of grace.

And the power of mercy.

May we always remember that sometimes it takes darkness to see the light.