Follow Through

      As I sat staring at my Bible this morning knowing I needed to open and read it I didn't know what chapter to read or what to focus on. I picked up my Bible and prayed, God show me where to turn and I'll read it. I opened my study Bible and began to flip the pages and stopped at 2 Chronicles 20. That is where I found a little nugget of goodness that spoke to me on this cold Sunday morning that has me feeling blah and wishing my back pain would go away. If you have a few minutes, please read and see what I learned.

     Jehoshaphat was a king of Judah. We can learn many things from him but the one lesson that I picked up on today was his obedience to God and the importance of following through. Like many kings, Jehoshaphat was faced with going to war and he was afraid and wasn't sure what he should do so he sought the Lord. "Jehoshaphat was afraid and he resolved to seek the Lord." 2 Chronicles 20:3 He sought the Lord in prayer, waited on God's answer, believed in God and what God said, obeyed God, and praised God. Let's look at each step of Jehoshaphat's follow through.

     Jehoshaphat prayed, his prayer wasn't long and elaborate like you might assume a king's prayer would be, instead his prayer was short and to the point. He ended his prayer by saying, "For we are powerless before this vast number that comes to fight against us. We do not know what to do but we look to you." 2 Chronicles 20:12b How many times have you felt helpless? How many times have you looked to others to help you instead of turning to the One who is powerful and can help you? That has been me many times in the past and a lot here recently too. I am finally at the point where I am saying, "God I do not know what to do-help me." I wish I would've said that from the beginning but I'm a bit stubborn.

     After Jehoshaphat prayed, he waited on an answer from God. In the story it seems that the answer came immediately, but we don't know how long it really took. All we know for sure is Jehoshaphat didn't go into battle before getting an answer from God. Many times we get tired of waiting on the answer or we don't like the answer we're given so we do what we think is right. More times than not in my own life this has not been the best thing to do, but I do it because I want it fixed right now on my timeline not God's. Jehoshaphat waited and once he received his answer he listened to God and believed what he was told. His answer came from Jehaziel, a priest, and in short here is what God told him: "Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast number, for the battle is not yours, but God's...Do not be afraid or discouraged. Tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you." 2 Chronicles 20:15b and 17d. Notice in God's answer he acknowledged Jehoshaphat's fear and told him to not be afraid or discouraged not once but twice. God knows we fear what we can't control or see or even understand so he told him twice to reassure him. God let Jehoshaphat know that this battle was God's battle and he was with Jehoshaphat. The same goes for you and me, whatever we're facing, it's God's battle, so we need to give it to him and remember he is with us. Upon getting his answer Jehoshaphat put his face to the ground and worshipped God. When was the last time you fell to the ground and worshipped God? I can tell you it's been far too long for me.

     Jehoshaphat then believed God's answer and obeyed him. While obeying God, Jehoshaphat faced his fear and praised God. Verse 20:22 says, "The moment they began their shouts and praises, the Lord set an ambush" against his enemies. God started working immediately and this was before Jehoshaphat and his army arrived to the location that he was told to go to. Did you catch that? God started working immediately when Jehoshaphat and his men obeyed God. God will do the same for us! When they arrived to the appointed location they saw corpses on the ground, not a single person survived. They returned to Jerusalem rejoicing. Often when God answers our prayers we acknowledge him in the moment but we don't rejoice with others but we should. When we share what God has done in our lives it strengthens our faith and the faith of others. This is the follow through! Jehoshaphat and his men returned rejoicing, they followed through.

   It's important in sports to follow through with your shot or swing, it's important in your life to follow through with what you say, and it's important in our prayer life to follow through. In all things following through allows you to be better or do a better job than if you didn't follow through. In sports when you follow through you're more likely to make the shot or hit the ball further. In life when you follow through you are showing people you mean what you say and say what you mean. How do you follow through in prayer? You follow through in prayer by giving God praise and sharing with others what he has done. By following through you will grow in your faith and your relationship with God. No matter the answer- be like Jehoshaphat and follow through. 

Aches and Pains

 There are many jokes about growing older but there is nothing like experiencing the aches and pains of growing older. If you keep up with me you know that the past two years have rough. Life hasn't been full unicorns and rainbows or even a walk in the park, its been more like trying to ride a bicycle blind folded in the dark. Nothing has made sense and I'm pretty sure most of it never will. So, why am I writing today? Is it to complain about what obstacles I've been facing? There will probably be a little of that. Is it to enlighten  you on something God has taught me during this trying time? Nope! I am writing to share what is on my mind or I should say what has crossed my mind today and the last couple of days.

I'm a school teacher so I'm blessed to have this week off, but it's been hard to enjoy because I've not been able to do much. Most of you might say that's wonderful, but it's not enjoyable when that's all you've been able to do for three months. Let me set the stage...

In September I hurt my back. I'm not sure how but many people will say that I over did it with my CG workouts, but I disagree. I hurt so bad that I wasn't able to walk for a week, then slowly and surely I've been able to tolerate a little walking and standing, but still not much and certainly no workouts. This has been hard not just because I'm not working out but because I can't help around my house. I know that how I handle the hard times reflects my beliefs but in this case it doesn't. This struggle has brought up many doubts, old issues that I thought I had dealt with, and lots of whys. 

The whys are too many to list here. The doubts are some that I've written about and some new ones as I made a decision this past year to not coach..good laugh here cause I wouldn't be able to coach at this point in time. God's timing? I don't know, but I do know that I miss coaching. So, aches and pains...they happen when we get older and our bodies decide to not work like they did when we were younger. Aches and pains also happen when we grow in every aspect of our lives.

We grow when we face obstacles and learn how to get around them. We grow when we accept change no matter how different the change may be. We grow when we step outside of our comfort zones and allow God to work in our lives. So maybe, just maybe this particular ache and pain is happening to show me things about myself that need to change so I can continue to grow into the person God created me to be.

I'll finish up with my rambling. This year has been hard on everyone and seems to be teaching us to reflect on what matters the most and to be thankful for what we have. The aches and pains of this life can at times be unbearable but if we believe in God, we always have the hope of a better tomorrow and if tomorrow isn't better we have a promise of eternity with no more pain, no more sorrow and no more tears. I'm doing the best I can to stay focused on God and know this is only a moment, a season in life, and this too shall pass. May you all have a blessed Thanksgiving!