As a young teenager, I often cared for my three younger siblings while Mother did domestic work for a doctor’s family.
One Saturday while at the doctor’s home, Mom received a call. She quickly called me. “Don’t answer the door for anyone. Just stay inside the house and keep the children nearby. I will explain later.”
Fear was my companion that day, but I focused on the Lord and asked Him to give us protection. “Oh, Lord, help us” was all I could pray. I was responsible for my siblings and didn’t even know what kind of danger lingered nearby.
A few hours later, Mom came home. The phone call had been from a man who said he knew where her family was. He told her to get a large amount of money from the doctor and meet him at a particular place. The doctor involved the police, and they caught the criminal.
Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, was told, “A vast army is coming against you to wage war.” He called an assembly at the temple of the Lord to ask for God’s help. He stated, “Our eyes are on You, Lord.”
On the day of battle, the king instructed the people to praise and sing to the Lord. The Lord sent ambushes against Judah’s enemies. By the time the men of Judah arrived at the place of battle, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground. The Lord fought against their enemies and killed them. The Israelites spent three days collecting the plunder. Focusing on the Lord—instead of the danger—gave them the victory.
When something or someone wages war against us or our family, we can reach for a weapon to defend ourselves, ask others to rally around our cause, whine and complain—or turn our eyes on the Lord. Telling God our eyes are not focused on the problem at hand, but on Him, is the first step toward victory.
Turn your eyes to God when things appear to be against you.
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Phyllis Qualls Freeman is a freelance writer with twenty years’ experience and more than four hundred published devotions, magazine articles, and newspaper human-interest pieces. She lives near Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Answered Prayers, and several anthologies. She writes devotions on assignment and enjoys mentoring new writers.