Sunday 11st August 2024 

Theme: Trusting God even when you are overwhelmed by fear 

Book: 2Chronicles 20:1-23 

Preacher: Jeremie NDABO  

Be it David or Daniel and his friends, they all held onto their faith, trusting God even when they were facing tough situations, didn’t know the outcomes and even when their lives took unexpected turn. Today, through Jehoshaphat’s story, we’ll see how to trust God in a scary situation. 

Fear is a part of human experience, it can be defined as a strong and unpleasant feeling caused by actual or perceived danger. In the Bible, it has two categories: the first one is the positive fear which is the fear of the Lord expressed trough a reverent obedience to God and acknowledging his power. This fear is encouraged as it is the beginning of wisdom. The second one is the funk we get in a scary situation. There are inevitable in life but remaining in those fears won’t do us any good, that’s why the Bible constantly remind us not to fear.  

However there are moments when it’s really hard not to fear even when the Bible commands the contrary; same goes for king Jehoshaphat: no matter how well organized he was, he not prepared for an attack of this wingspan. Here are some reasons that push us to fear: 

   - Fear comes from conditioning or the environment in which we function. 

   - Fear can come from concealing like Adam and Eve did, and so did David 

   - Fear comes from the tendency of controlling everything. 

Let’s see how Jehoshaphat’s faith helped him to overcome his fear: 

   > When he was afraid, he remembered and believed that God is able (2Chr 20:6-7). We’ve got to remember and believe that what God can still do what He did in the past.

   > He named the reason behind his fear(2Chr 20:10) He was very clear and specific before God about what caused him to be afraid and guess what? 2Peter 5:7 says that not only is God able but he also deeply cares about us. 

   > King Jehoshaphat and the people of Juda fixed their eyes in God ( 2Chr 20:12). In Mathiew chapter 14, the Bible says that from the moment Peter shifted his sight from Jesus to the storm, he began to drown, but immediately after he cried to the lord, Jesus reached to get him. 

   > They did not have to fight the battle, the only thing they did was to praise the Lord. Remember, worship and worry can’t stay in the same room (2Chr20:21). 

In short, the antidote to fear is not more courage nor boldness but faith and the soundtrack of faith is worship. The problem may still be there but as long as we are fixing our eyes on God, he will get us through it. So, praise the Lord, fear is not our future. 

Amen!