We live in a fast paced, ever-changing, and highly stressed society. Our days are filled with constant notifications, meetings, and never-ending task lists. It is rare that we ever do one thing at a time anymore-
we are constantly multitasking, trying to accomplish the maximum in the shortest period of time. Especially right now, specifically for those who work in ministry, it is the busiest season of the year. There are productions, rehearsals, projects, and that’s on top of the usual needs of your ministry. We work as hard as we can, trying to keep ahead of the tidal wave, checking things off our list as quickly as we can.
I think if we’re honest, this life style can seep over into our relationship with the Lord. We carve out 10mins, 30mins, or an hour in our day, and then we quickly move through our list: Read or listen to Scripture, read a devotion or lesson, make sure we keep up with our Bible reading plan, run down our prayer request list, maybe read a chapter of a Christian book to top it off. And all these things are great things to do!
But when is the last time you just sat in the presence of God? When is the last time you set the list aside, and actually let your heart and mind grow quiet before Him? That you became sensitive to His Spirit? That you not only read Scripture, but meditated on it and let the Lord speak to you through it?
You see, this week’s advent is all about peace. Peace is a precious commodity in our society, there really doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of it. As believers, we know that ultimate peace came as a little baby in a stable so many years ago. We know that we serve a God of peace, and we find true peace through Jesus. Isaiah 9:6, 1 Corinthians 14:33, and Philippians 4:7 are all well-known, beautiful passages that speak to this.
But I want to look at a lesser known passage, 2 Chronicles 20. Let’s talk about Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. Random, I know. But I think this passage can teach us a valuable lesson about peace. To set the scene, there is a LARGE army descending on Judah. Word of the impending doom is brought to Jehoshaphat, and we know he felt anything but peaceful:
“Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to seek help from the Lord; they even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the Lord.” (Vs. 3-4)
I think it’s a lesson to us all that when Jehoshaphat heard this news that the kingdom may be about to crumble, he immediately sought out the presence of God. His first move was to spend time seeking the Lord. Jehoshaphat and the people spent a powerful time in prayer and worship, and the Spirit of the Lord showed up in that prayer meeting, saying:
“‘You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you.’” (Vs. 17)
Simply “stand and see the salvation of the Lord.” If you know the story, the people of Judah went out the next day, and they put the choir in front of the army. The choir went out first to meet their enemies, singing praises and worshipping. And as they came toward their enemies, they realized their enemies were already dead. The Lord had confused the enemy armies and they had already killed each other. The battle was over, and the people of Judah had simply prayed, prepared, and worshipped.
There are a number of lessons we can draw from this passage, but I want to focus on one of the last verses of this chapter:
“So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God gave him rest on all sides.” (Vs. 30)
This account is beautiful in many ways, but one of the things I think we can take away is the peace found through simply spending time in the presence of God. When we stop “doing,” for just a bit, we sit in His presence, and simply wait for Him. I think this is something we don’t do enough, and in turn, we miss out on powerful stories such as this.
Don’t let your time with the Lord simply become another item to check off your to-do list.
So in the midst of this Christmas season, where many of those in ministry are running from meetings to rehearsals, putting out constant fires, and have task lists longer than there are minutes in a day, my challenge for us is to not let this frantic season seep over into the time we spend with the Lord. Seek the presence of God above all else. Sit with Him. Seek His heart. Don’t let your time with the Lord simply become another item to check off your to-do list. And in doing that, there is peace. There is rest on all sides.
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