Tuesday, September 22, 2026
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: 2 Chronicles 19-24
Key Verse
2 Chronicles 21:17 — “And they came up into Judah, and brake into it, and carried away all the substance that was found in the king’s house, and his sons also, and his wives; so that there was never a son left him, save Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.”
Devotional Thought
What does it look like to seek the Lord when you have no strength left? Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, gives us an answer in 2 Chronicles 20. A vast coalition—Moabites, Ammonites, and men of Mount Seir—marched against him, and the text says plainly, “Jehoshaphat feared.” He did not pretend courage he did not possess. Instead, he “set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.” The people gathered from every city, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, standing before the house of God. His prayer is one of the most honest in Scripture: “O our God… we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.”
God’s answer came through Jahaziel, a Levite: “Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” The next morning Jehoshaphat appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, praising the beauty of holiness. And “when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments” against the enemy, so that the alliance destroyed itself. Judah never drew a sword. They gathered spoil for three days and blessed God in the Valley of Berachah—the Valley of Blessing. Yet the same chapter records Jehoshaphat’s later alliance with wicked Ahaziah, and the ships that broke at Eziongeber. A good king, but not a perfect one. Grace and warning stand side by side.
This is the season when autumn’s light slants lower and the year begins its long exhale. Many of us carry burdens that feel like that great multitude—too many, too near, too strong. The text does not ask us to manufacture bravery. It asks us to stand still, to fast, to pray with our families, and to sing before the battle is won. It also warns us against yoking ourselves to what God has not joined us to. Jehoshaphat’s story teaches both: seek the Lord wholly, and guard your alliances carefully.
Notice the order Jehoshaphat gave: “Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.” Faith came before the victory, and praise came before the proof. Whatever you face this September, let your eyes be upon Him.
Reflection
- Jehoshaphat prayed, “neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.” What situation in your life right now requires you to stop striving and simply fix your eyes on God?
- Jehoshaphat’s later alliance with Ahaziah broke the very ships he built. Where might a good intention be yoked to a wrong partnership in your own life?
Prayer
O Lord God of our fathers, Thou art God in heaven and rulest over all the kingdoms of men. We come to Thee as Judah came, with our little ones and our fears, confessing that we have no might against the troubles that rise against us and that we often do not know what to do. Turn our eyes upon Thee. Fight our battles, we pray, and let us stand still and see Thy salvation. Teach us to praise Thee before the answer comes, and keep us from yoking ourselves to what dishonors Thy name. Establish us in faith, give us rest round about, and bring us at last to our own Valley of Blessing, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.