“Our Eyes are on You” – A Look at 2 Chronicles 20:12

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The world is in crisis mode. It doesn’t matter where you get your news. If it’s on social media, newspapers, or television, they all agree. This world is in crisis. There is no doubt in my mind that I don’t know what to do anymore. Our eyes are on you Jesus because that is all we can do.

2 Chronicles 20 tells the story of King Jehoshaphat responding to a crisis moment and how he humbled himself before God. How to humble yourself before God in tough times can seem very difficult, but like King Jehoshaphat, it can lead to great victories.

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We Don’t Know What to Do

I recently discovered a verse that has transformed the way I look at life. Yes, literally transformed. There is consistent power of scripture to revolutionize perspectives in life. A book of the Bible that has been read a dozen times suddenly unravels a new previously unseen truth. There is great power in the Scriptures of the Almighty God.  In this case, a passage shifted my perspective simply with the acknowledgment of how little I know.

“We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you!”

2 Chronicles 20:12 ESV

The statement was a cry out to God by King Jehoshaphat on the cusp of a great battle. He declared earlier in the verse that Judah was ‘powerless against this great horde that is coming against us’ (1 Chronicle 20:12).

Powerless. Sound familiar? Recently, I have felt that quite frequently. Powerless with no control. I can’t control the pandemic or the unrest of 2020. There is nothing I can do about cities burning, statues toppling, or family and friends verbally at war. Our eyes are on you, Jesus. That’s all we can do.

King Jehoshaphat was afraid, he was terribly afraid (vs 3), and yet he still had enough sense to proclaim a fast across Judah (vs 3), cry out to God (vs 5-12), and worship (vs 18). In fact, King Jehoshaphat had people singing and worshiping the Lord go before the army into battle. Can you imagine?! A worship team going before the army. 

We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you. The more I hear that verse the more powerful it seems. It is a complete acknowledgment that we are clueless in our knowledge, but God is sovereign. In that humility there is strength. King Jehoshaphat humbled himself and in that strength, he won a great battle.

When you humble yourself before God, victories you never thought possible can suddenly become possible.

The entire nation of Judah humbled themselves before the Lord. My pastor recently posed a question to me. He asked, “If our entire nation repented before God of all our evils, would God save us from this pandemic?” After many weeks of contemplating this question, I think the answer is a resounding yes. He would save us from all of 2020’s misfortunes. I really believe it. If we would only humble ourselves before God.

If only we would turn “Our eyes are on you,” we would see great things.

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Humility in a sense is to feel low or small in the great scheme of things. In 2020, it can be easy to feel powerless, helpless, and unsure of what to do. Like King Jehoshaphat, we may feel afraid. But King Jehoshaphat’s humility led to a great victory. His humility wasn’t weakness, it was strength.

When we don’t know what to do, this is the perfect time for true humility to shine through. It is the time for Christ-like humility to lead.

But Our Eyes Are On You

When was the last time you felt powerless and sought God with fasting, prayer, and worship? King Jehoshaphat ordered his entire country to fast! In fact, based on verse 4, it seems as if the entire nation of Judah was encouraged to seek God in the hopes the ‘horde’ would not be victorious against them.

More often when the overwhelming feeling of powerless descends upon us, we go immediately into battle mode. On our own accord, we seek to rectify the situation. We solve it, we finish it, we fight it.  Yet for Judah, they stopped and sought God. They turned to God. Tim Keller in his book, Suffering addresses the subject of when life doesn’t make sense, and how the Gospel can impact our lives as we seek God.

Humility is not weakness. It is actually the opposite.

The story of this particular battle is quite intriguing because there was very little hope for the nation of Judah. Yet by the time all was said and done it took three days to collect all the spoil that the battle gave them. It is obvious by the scripture’s portrayal, that the victory was not Judah’s, but God’s. 

To humble ourselves before God means that we turn away from ourselves and make ourselves low.

What We Can Learn from King Jehoshaphat

When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
    but with humility comes wisdom.

Proverbs 11:2 NIV

When you really start searching scripture, you find that the book is more about God than it is about you. I’m sorry, did I offend you?

We like to hear that the world is about us. That self-care trumps self-depravation. Don’t hear me incorrectly, taking care of ourselves is important, but when we turn to scripture, I think we will find more about humbling ourselves than exalting ourselves.

God has lots to say about when we humble ourselves before God. It says in 1 Peter that he will favor you for your humility. He will oppose your pride.

“God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”

1 Peter 5:5 NIV

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

James 4:10 ESV

The story of King Jehoshaphat is an excellent example of how when we humble ourselves, God honors that willing submission. When we look at 2 Chronicles there are some practical steps that King Jehoshaphat did in how to humble ourselves before God. If you are feeling convicted to humble yourself before God these are some practical things that King Jehoshaphat did.

1. He acknowledged that he was afraid
2. He prayed, fasted, and encouraged others to do the same.
3. He verbally acknowledge the good things that God had done in the past.
4. He worships God through song. The power of song is important during tough times.
5. He turned to Scripture. During tough times it is important we turn to scripture and press into Christ. Remember you can download the humility phone wallpaper package that goes along with this post.
6. Ultimately King Jehoshaphat turned to God in complete surrender.

When you Feel Powerless

Powerless. They felt powerless, yet God saved them.

Do you ever feel powerless? The gift of 2020 is being able to stop and take a deep inward evaluation of where we are at. We can let go. Where are you spiritually, physically, emotionally, and mentally?

What if we took the time in these moments to fast, pray, and worship? King Jehoshaphat made the claim, “Our eyes are on you.” What if we turned our eyes completely to the Lord? Can you imagine the impact those few things would have on our lives? For Judah, it meant the difference between a godly victory or a human defeat. 

Life brings conflict. The year 2020 has proved that. Maybe not an epic battle as in 2 Chronicles 20, but a conflict nonetheless.  We have seen family conflict, pandemics, election turmoil, school closings, businesses dying, friendship tension, marital arguments, children’s tantrums, isolation, and racial tensions, and we could continue on.

It’s in these moments we can respond like King Jehoshaphat and throw our hands up in surrender and cry out,

“Jesus! I don’t know what to do, but my eyes and heart are on you.”