2 Chronicles 19:4 Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and turned them back to the Lord, the God of their fathers.

When you think about it, this was pretty unusual activity for a king. Reading on, we find that he delegated the actual business of running the country to others, with Amariah and Zebadiah pretty much in charge, (verse11) while he spent his time personally turning the people back to Yahweh. He was evidently more comfortable as an evangelist than as a king! This sets the scene for the very dramatic events of the next chapter, where Jehoshaphat’s devotion to God bears some pretty dramatic fruit. Those events, however, would not have come about had Jehoshaphat not been as committed to God as we see here. It is something of a truism, but the time to prepare for a crisis is before the crisis happens. The daily, little things prepare us – or “unprepare” us – for the big things. Had Jehoshaphat been ignoring matters of faith and obedience to God while things were peaceful, then he would have been woefully unprepared for the national crisis that came later. At this time he got the government into good functioning order, and he kept his personal focus on God. That’s a very good example to follow!

This story is certainly a good example for me personally. I certainly had no plans to build a million-dollar elder-care facility at the point I came to Omura. However, God’s guidance at this point is pretty hard to deny. At the same time, the challenges are immense. We just found out that the lump-sum offering that we’ve been expecting next month isn’t going to cover the cost of the land, even, which means we’ve got to recognize and appropriate God’s provision for that before the contract date in October. If I hadn’t been through all we experienced in building this building, I would be totally unprepared for what we face now. As it is, there are many potential pitfalls, but by God’s grace I have walked with Him in smaller things long enough that my faith is firmly fixed on Him, rather than on any human instrument He might use. That’s not to say I don’t have my moments of panic! I’ve got to remember that God is more than able to deal with every issue, and humbly listen and obey whatever He tells me.

Father, thank You for this reminder. You know better than I do that I don’t have the wisdom, skills, and connections to get this done on my own, but I’m connected to You, and that’s enough. I ask You to show me whom to reach out to and how, so that each person You want involved in this project will be, drawing them to You and bringing You glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!