Hearing His Voice #108

The Spirit of the LORD came upon one of the men standing there. . . . He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says . . .”

2 Chronicles 20:14-15

Judah was being invaded, and King Jehoshaphat cried out to God. He called for a fast, reminded God of His promises, declared his own helplessness, and appealed to God for defense and direction. Then, as all of the people of Judah assembled, the Spirit came on one of the men standing there. Apparently this was not the leading court prophet or the high priest. He was just a man—a priest with a godly lineage, to be sure, but otherwise just an attendee. And he began shouting, “This is what the LORD says!”

What would happen today if someone in a crowd—even a church crowd—began shouting the Lord’s will? We generally look at such things with suspicion or even contempt. But apparently Jehoshaphat had no such reservations. The king staked the future of his people on what this Spirit-inspired man declared in public, even though there was no visible, foolproof evidence that his words were positively from the Spirit. The next day, the king articulated his approach: “Believe in [God’s] prophets, and you will succeed” (2 Chronicles 20:20).

The prophecy turned out to be God’s voice, and Judah marched out to battle with worshipers leading the way and with the assurance that God would fight on their behalf. The enemy coalition divided and turned on each other, and Judah’s army won without fighting.

The point is that Jehoshaphat recognized God’s voice and believed it, even though he had no guarantees that the word was legitimate. We have to do the same. We dismiss God’s voice far too often, simply because we aren’t absolutely certain it is His. But God honors steps of faith—even when we happen to be mistaken about them. He encourages us to hear and respond.

Holy Spirit, give me the boldness to take steps of faith. Help me to be discerning without overanalyzing—to trust Your ability to lead more than my ability to miss Your leading.