When Fear Comes Knocking

Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, had done all the right things to please God. But the bottom dropped out when he received a frightening report that a vast army was coming to attack him. There was no way that Jehoshaphat could defeat that army with his army.

So what did Jehoshaphat do? The Bible says that he prayed, saying, “O Lord, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you! . . . O our God, won’t you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help” (2 Chronicles 20:6, 12 NLT).

The Bible tells us that “all the men of Judah stood before the Lord with their little ones, wives, and children” (verse 13 NLT). What a scene. Jehoshaphat was saying, “God, if you don’t get us out of this, we are dead. But our eyes are upon You.” God answered that prayer, and He defeated their enemy.

Philippians tells us, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7 NLT).

And in Jeremiah 33:3, the Lord says, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (NKJV). That is what we need to do when we’re overwhelmed. God encourages us to call out to Him in our time of need.