2 Chronicles 20:32-37
THE conclusion of King Jehoshaphat’s life described him as a FAILURE. His beginnings were very impressive. He was one of the rare kings who earned the Prophets’ respect. He sought the Lord’s help when dealing with the major battles of life and led his people to do the same. (2 Chron.20: 13-29). The Lord fought His battles but in the last chapters of Jehoshaphat's life, when wars had ceased and peace and prosperity reigned, he slowly drifted from fully trusting God. His faith was now in the selective mode. He engaged in ungodly alliances with the wicked Kings, Ahab and Ahaziah. He trusted God in the major battles but trusted himself in the minor ones. Jehoshaphat died without a big scandal but he died a FAILURE. Let us redefine who were failures in the eyes of God? Further let us trace the signs that show we are walking this path of becoming a failure. Finally, let’s humbly ask when is failure final?
Failure revisited
Remember, Jehoshaphat died a good king, worthy of military and national honor. By what standard was this king a failure? In the area of faith -- full faith -- he was a failure. He had heard the message of the Lord that the battle belongs to the Lord. He understood those words during the major battles of his life, but when it came to the minor ones, he was in charge. This is where he became a big-time failure by neglecting to trust God in small matters.
1. Jehoshaphat failed to trust God in the easy moments of life.
2. Jehoshaphat failed to learn from his Father's mistakes. He failed to depend upon God for discernment in choosing who his allies will be.
3. Jehoshaphat failed to completely obey God as He knew how (2 Chronicle 20:33-34)
4. Jehoshaphat failed to leave a legacy of Faith
Failure redefined
The standard of God demands total trust in Him who is truly trustworthy! It’s not a selective kind of faith activated only in tough times, it is an intimate lifestyle of trust and friendship with God. Only by God's help do the impossible become possible, the difficult becomes simple and easy. Without trust in God, the minor becomes a major disaster! Quietly ponder on these spiritual insights:
1. The one who fails to trust God in the easy moments of life is a failure already.
2. When our failures lead us to God in faith and repentance, we are not failures.
3. We can die without a major scandal attached to us and still die a failure because we did not fully trust God especially in those easy and minor moments in life.
4. God measures faithfulness, not in big stuff but in the minor and little things in life.
Let us ask hard questions of ourselves:
1. Is there any guarantee that you will not end up a failure? This one does not require an answer of yes or no. It is a humble invitation to admit and accept vulnerability, drives us to our knees crying to God for mercy.
2. Do you find it easier to trust God in the major things and not in the minor ones? This question should lead us to admit our arrogant tendency to trust self when things are smooth. It is also a follow-up invitation from God to rely upon Him in all things minus the labels of what is major and minor.
3. It’s hard to trust God when you are disappointed with Him. Agree?
This last question requires a long courageous look inside. Honestly and humbly deals with our deep-seated disappointment with the Almighty. There's a pattern here, admission of disappointment with God and openly letting God know about it helps us trust God once more. Let us not only have the guts to voice our complaints, let us also have the willingness to hear God's side of the story. Be very slow in saying to others "trust God" without considering their disappointment with God. Don’t erase the struggle in giving way to a hurried surrender. Settle disappointments with God at the throne of grace! Only then will we realize that trusting God is done on His terms, not ours!
Failure redeemed
Trusting God is never easy! It takes a big deal of shattered dreams and big-time brokenness before we learn and apply what trusting God really means. Unless all our personal agenda and all our attempts for self-preservation are moment-by-moment surrendered at the cross, we will fail. Failure is not final when it leads you to be at the foot of the cross. The next time you see a cross, remember, it’s a sign of hope for those who fail that in Christ, failure is not final. It is just sad that in the second half of life, many died a failure trusting God partially, trusting human partners fully! Lord, have mercy!