2
Chronicles 17:3-13
The goodness of the Lord is the key to life in
abundance. Without the Lord’s goodness, the best of human efforts will yield
nothing fruitful.
Even when Moses requested to see God’s glory, His response was, ‘I will make
all My goodness pass before you...’ (Exodus 33:19).
While we agree that the goodness of the Lord is not
dependent on the faithfulness of men, a demand has been placed upon everyone to
a large extent, in order to ensure the fulfillment of God’s purpose for his or
her life.
One of the people who enjoyed the goodness and
mercies of the Lord, in the Bible was Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. However, we
want to examine some of the decisions he made and the consequences thereof.
He
strengthened himself against the king of Israel, He also beefed up security around
the fortified cities of Judah.
To
fulfil God’s purpose for your life, you must strengthen your hearts against the
counsels and advice of some ‘kings’, ‘chiefs’, associates and relatives, who
could lead you astray.
He
sought God and walked in His ways. His heart took absolute delight in the ways
of the Lord, therefore, he enjoyed the presence of God.
He
engaged the people of the land in spiritual development, through the teaching
of the word of God. As a result of this, the Lord brought his dread upon all
the cities around Judah, such that they made peace with him and brought
tributes to him…
He
consolidated his strength… became increasingly powerful (waxed great
exceedingly), built fortresses and storage cities in Judah.
He
cultivated the spirit of enterprise (he had much business in the cities of
Judah)…
He
raised up men of war (mighty men of valour).
In all these, the Lord strengthened the nation under
the leadership of Jehoshaphat such that he had a peaceful tenure.
It is also important for us to note that Jehoshaphat
made some negative decisions that got him into trouble. These, we must avoid as
we take a ‘walk’ with God in year 2018:
He
formed a strategic alliance with Ahab, the king of Israel (2 Chron. 18:1-3).
This ungodly relationship almost cost him his life (2 Chron. 18:28-34).
Later
on, he entered into a business relationship with Ahaziah, another king of Israel
who was very wicked. This resulted into a huge loss for him… (2 Chron.
20:35-37).
‘For
whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we
through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope’ (Romans
15:4).
In this season, we will experience the goodness and
mercies of the Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ…
Remain blessed!
PASTOR NATHANIEL SADELA
RESIDENT PASTOR
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