I Don't Know

A favorite response of mine lately is, "I don’t know." This month, Lord willing, I will be entering college: new place, new people, new ideas, new routines, and the list goes on. Change is difficult for me, and I’m sure it is for many other Christian ladies, as well.

People ask me questions about it everyday. Some go like this: "Are you going to have a coffeepot for your room?" You know me so well! I think and say aloud. Other questions are more difficult, and the mental and verbal answers often differ: "What are you going to major in?" Stay-at-home-Mom! I think with a grin. Uh, I don’t really know…I like to write, so…English? I also like to bake…and sing…and stuff. Yes, that’s more like the real answer—I don’t know!

Jehoshaphat didn’t know what to do either. And though he wasn’t choosing a career, deciding when to finish his essay, or having to make new friends, the things he did to deal with his ignorance of how to handle a situation can teach us a lot today.

Second Chronicles 20 opens pretty bleakly. Nations were coming to make war against Jehoshaphat, and he was afraid (v.1-3)! But he turned to the Lord—and he wasn’t alone in doing so. Verse 4 says that all the cities of Judah gathered together to seek help from the Lord! We see through Jehoshaphat’s prayer, specifically verse 6, that he knew God was (and still is!) God of the heavens. He knew God was (and still is!) ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations. He knew power and might were (and still are!) in His hand so that no one can stand against Him. Jehoshaphat knew he and his people could (as we still can!) cry out to Him in distress, and He would hear and deliver them (v.9). The prayer of Jehoshaphat is concluded in verse 12 with a beautiful, comforting declaration: "For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You."

Relief! That’s exactly what we find when we know who God is and what He can do when we trust Him! Jehoshaphat knew he couldn’t defeat that army alone, but He knew Who could. He didn’t know what to do, but he knew Who did! And when he asked and trusted, God took care of it (v. 14-23)! We each experience different "don’t know" times in life. My college anxieties are small, for example, compared to a woman who is facing an unfaithful spouse or a widow who is battling poor health. But you know what? We can all appreciate and take advantage of the fact that no matter how seemingly small or big our "I don’t knows" are, God can and will take care of them if we keep our eyes on Him, simply trusting and obeying.