Trusting God's Plan in the Battle: Lessons From the Life of JehoshaphatSample

Day 17: Fear of God Fell on the Land

As your tour guide today, we’re taking a stop in the Valley of Beracah which means either Valley of Praise or Valley of Blessings. Who doesn’t want to visit that valley? It is the place where the people of Judah stood and praised God as he fought for them. Isn’t it sweet that before heading home after the victory, Jehoshaphat assembled all the people back where the true victory was won? This is the place they took their positions and stood firm to watch God fight for them.

They met there again as triumphant victors and praised their way back to Jerusalem. As they entered the city, they went to the Lord’s temple for some more time of worship and praise. They had just seen a miracle and had plenty to celebrate!

Have you ever seen the big celebrations after a sports team wins their championship? Their hometown typically hosts a huge parade, and the city streets are filled with fans celebrating. That’s what this was like, but they took their party to the house of the Lord! He was the reason they won the battle and they wanted to continue the praise party!

This victory was bigger than the people of Judah could have imagined because the fear of God fell on all the surrounding kingdoms. Word spread of how God defeated their enemies, and no one wanted to mess with them because of that. “And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.” 2 Chronicles 20:30

This is a great reminder to us that people around you are watching you. You may not realize it, but you have an audience observing how you fight your battles. Your enemies might not want to pick a fight with you if it means fighting God. And who doesn’t want to be given a season of rest after a big battle? That’s probably the best gift Jehoshaphat could have asked for!

Questions:

1. Do you have a "Valley of Blessing" in your life, a place where God has won a victory for you in the past?

2. What do you imagine the fear of God looked like to the people of other kingdoms?

3. Why is it important to go back and praise where we had a past victory?