I Will Praise You in This Storm

“Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” 
- 2 Chronicles 20:15

Last week I heard the story of Johnny, a 5-year-old boy who was in the kitchen with his mom while she was making dinner. Johnny’s mom asked him to go into the walk-in pantry and get her a can of tomato soup—but he was afraid to go into the pantry alone. He protested, “Mommy, it’s dark in there, and I’m scared.” She waited a minute or so and asked him again, but he still said he was too scared. Finally she said, “It’s okay—Jesus will be in there with you.” So, Johnny walked hesitantly to the pantry door and slowly opened it. He peeked inside, saw that it was dark, and started to abort his mission. But then he had an idea. He faced the darkness of the inner pantry and called, “Jesus, if you’re in there, would you hand me that can of tomato soup?”

We all have times when we’re scared. I was scared when my wife was rushed in to the OR for an emergency c-section with our first daughter. I was scared when I saw my second daughter at the age of 2 fall head-first out of a shopping cart at the grocery store. I was scared a year ago when I passed out in an ICU patient’s room. And honestly, I’d be lying if I said that I don’t find this whole coronavirus pandemic to be a bit scary.

King Jehoshaphat of Judah experienced fear, too. At the beginning of 2 Chronicles 20, he got the news that three nations—Moab, Ammon and Edom—had formed a vast army to make war on his kingdom. Moab and Ammon were located to the east of Judah, and Edom was located to the south. These enemies joined together somewhere south of the Dead Sea and began moving north toward Jerusalem. As the three armies made their way to within 50 miles of Jehoshaphat’s doorstep, there’s no doubt about it: Jehoshaphat was worried, and he was scared. So, what did he do?

Jehoshaphat rallied his people to call out to the Lord in prayer. He asked the nation to fast and pray, and that’s exactly what the people of Judah did. As he led his people in prayer, Jehoshaphat acknowledged that God rules over heaven and earth. He reminded God of the promise He had made to his great, great grandfather King Solomon after the temple was dedicated: If God’s people would humbly turn to God and cry out to Him for deliverance, God would hear them and save them (vs. 6-12). And we’re told in verse 13 that it wasn’t just the men’s Bible study group, or the women’s prayer group, who stood humbly praying before the LORD. It was everyone--men, women, children and even little toddler—all crying out to God.

In response, God calmed Jehoshaphat’s fears by sharing with him the same four words that He repeats time and time again to His worried followers: “Do not be afraid.” It’s the most repeated command in the Bible. “Do not be afraid” appears more than 100 times in the pages of Scripture. When God commissioned Joshua to lead the Israelites, he said, “Do not be afraid.” When the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, he told her, “Do not be afraid.” When Jesus appeared to the women on Resurrection Sunday, guess what he told them? “Do not be afraid.” Over and over and over again in Scripture, God tells His followers, “Fear not! Do not be afraid.” And that’s what God told Jehoshaphat.

The next morning, his army marched out to the battlefield. Jehoshaphat gave his people a rousing pep talk: “Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld” (v. 20). Then he did something very strange. According to verse 21, Jehoshaphat put a praise team at the head of his army. And this praise team had one task: “to sing to the LORD and to praise him for splendor of His holiness.”

As Jehoshaphat’s army marched toward the battlefield, the hillsides were filled with the sound of voices singing, “Give thanks to the LORD, for His love endures forever.” And as men of God leading the army of God praised God, the Spirit of God was catapulted by their praise onto the battlefield, turning Judah’s enemies against each other. On that battlefield, the LORD won the victory without Jehoshaphat’s army having to lift a single sword. Praise has the ability to defy the odds and win victories in Jesus’ name!

2 Chronicles 20 reminds us that when we as God’s people humble ourselves before the LORD and pray … as we lift our voices in grateful praise to Him … there is power in our praise. It’s our job to trust God, love God, and obey His word. And part of that obedience involves praising Him. So, regardless of how crazy the circumstances around us are …we praise God. Because He is always good. He is always strong. He is always faithful. And He ALWAYS comes through.

Like Jehoshaphat, when a vast enemy—or a highly contagious virus—is bearing down on us, we tend to get nervous. And we tend to get frightened. But when that fear grips us, we need to do what Jehoshaphat did: We need to take our worries and fears to God. The battle belongs to the LORD.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. During this COVID-19 outbreak, please join us for our online worship service Sundays at 10 a.m. Simply go to www.GreaterImpact.cc to view the service on our homepage.

A Little Kindness Goes a Long Way

“If anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little one because

he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.” 

- Matthew 10:42

Last Monday—after waiting in line for over an hour for toilet paper at Target—I found myself longing to return to the big box store later that day. Why? Am I a glutton for punishment? No. I wanted to return to the hullaballoo because of the amazing thing God had taught me while I was there.

Shortly before 7 a.m., I arrived at the Apple Valley Super Target, and I took my place in line outside the store. There were about 50 people lined up in front of me. I said to myself, “Under the circumstances, this line isn’t that bad.” But after entering the store, grabbing a shopping cart, and making my way to the toilet paper aisle, I learned that there was a second line forming inside the store. Of the 50 people who had been ahead of me in line outside, around 40 of them had already formed a line for toilet paper inside.

And wouldn’t you know it! The line was at a standstill. There wasn’t a single package of toilet paper on the shelves, but the Target team members assured us that toilet paper would be trickling in as it arrived. So, we waited. And waited. And waited.

Surprisingly, the one-hour wait was quite entertaining. The two young ladies in front of me in line were wearing double-barreled gas masks and giggling as they held up their cell phones to take selfies and make video calls to their boyfriends. And after a few minutes in line, I turned around and began talking with the middle-aged man standing behind me as well as the two chatty ladies in line behind him. It quickly became clear that these two ladies were strong Christians who attended church regularly and trusted in Jesus Christ to see them through these troubled times.

After about ten minutes in the standstill line, I thought to myself, “I might as well get some other shopping done.” So, I asked my three new friends in line if they’d mind holding my place for me while I grabbed some eggs. They quickly agreed, so I offered to grab some eggs for them as well. After a few minutes I returned to my cart---still no movement in the line. So, I left the line a second time to grab a few more items. Over the next 40 minutes I left the line an additional three or four times.

Finally, I reached the front of the toilet paper line, and there was just one package left. I felt bad taking the last package, because I knew that the man behind me in line had been, like me, waiting for an hour. And I knew that he had an appointment to get to, and he wouldn’t have time to wait the 20-30 minutes for the next shipment to arrive.

So, without giving it much thought, I tore open my newly-acquired package of toilet paper and gave him a couple rolls. You wouldn’t believe the sounds of shock that came from the crowd behind me. It was as if I had just handed him two gold bars. The man offered to pay me for the entire package, but I said, “Don’t worry about it!” as I made my way to the checkout line.

After waiting in the checkout line for a minute or two, a Target manager asked me to step into a closed checkout line, and she began to ring me up. She said, “I saw what you did. Thank you for taking care of one of our guests.” I stood there in disbelief as she gave me free plastic bags for my groceries, plus a 10% discount on my entire order.

As I pushed my cart out the door, tears welled up in my eyes. The Lord had revealed to me this simple truth: During this coronavirus pandemic—as millions of our fellow Americans are running around in fear like chickens with their heads cut off—simple acts of kindness will carry a much greater impact than usual. As followers of Jesus Christ head to Target, WalMart, Costco, Stater Bros., and WinCo and carry out simple acts of kindness and love in Jesus’ name, people’s hearts will be touched in a way that they wouldn’t normally be touched.

Never forget, followers of Christ, that God never wastes anything. On so many different levels, this coronavirus pandemic is a stress-producing nightmare. But we serve a God who specializes in bringing life and goodness out of the ashes. We serve a God who works “all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

So, in the days to come—as you venture out from your home and cross the paths of perfect strangers at the store, at work, or at your favorite drive-thru—please be kind. Be compassionate. Be patient. And allow every word that you speak and every action you carry out to communicate this peace-giving message: “It’s going to be okay. If we trust in God, He will see us through.” 

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. During this COVID-19 outbreak, please join us for our online worship service Sundays at 10 a.m. Simply go to www.GreaterImpact.cc to view the service on our homepage.