Five Simple Keys to Bring You To Your Own Personal Valley of Blessing (and one warning)
Taken From The Life of Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20
Today’s message, excerpted from the Amplified Bible will allow Holy Spirit to speak directly to you, for you to receive directly from Him and not from the words or interpretation of any man or in this case, woman (and you might be led to read the entire chapter):
Key #1:
Then Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself(determinedly, as his vital need) to seek the Lord; he proclaimed a fast in all Judah. And Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord (yearning for Him with all their desire). v2-3
(Jehoshaphat then stood before the entire assembly and prayed to the Lord, which included the words recorded in the next key).
Key #2
…For we have no might to stand against this great company coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you. v12
(Jehoshaphat’s heart posture and prayer opened up a portal for the Spirit of the Lord to come upon Jahaziel, thus giving us our next key).
Key #3
Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel…in the midst of the assembly. He said, “Hearken, all Judah, you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you King Jehoshaphat. The Lord says this to you: Be not afraid or dismayed at this great multitude (fill in your own situation here); for the battle is not yours but God’s…
(The Lord then gave explicit instructions through Jahaziel and then):
Key #4
And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshipping Him. And some Levites of the Levites of the Kohathites and Korahites stood up to praise the Lord, with a very loud voice.
Key #5
And they arose early in the morning…and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me …Believe in the Lord your God and you shall be established; believe and remain steadfast to His prophets and you shall prosper.”” When he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers to sing to the Lord and praise him in their holy (priestly) garments as they went out before the army, saying, “Give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy and lovingkindness endure forever. And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against…(His enemies) v20-22
(The heart posture of King Jehoshaphat and the obedience of the people to follow the Lord’s directive led to a victory so great and grand it took the Israelites three days to gather the spoil. And to switch to the New Living Translation: “On the fourth day they gathered in the Valley of Blessing, which got its name that day because the people praised and thanked the Lord there. It is still called the Valley of Blessing today.” And there you have it. Five Keys to enter into your own personal “Valley” or life of Blessing.)
But then comes a warning right before the chapter concludes. A warning about wrong partnerships and wrong connections. And back to the Amplified Bible we read:
After this, Jehoshaphat King of Judah joined with Ahaziah King of Israel, who did very wickedly. He joined them in building ships to go to Tarshish, building them in Ezion-geber. The Eliezer…prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have joined Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy your works. So the ships were wrecked and unable to go to Tarshish. V37
And so we see Jehoshaphat, though a good king who set his heart to seek the Lord, suffered the consequences of a wrong partnership. Perhaps he forgot to seek the Lord in this instance, and perhaps this was why he made such a bad decision. But from this we can take heed and learn.