April 20

Our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this vast army that comes against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You. — 2 Chr 20:12 BSB

Jehoshaphat did not know what to do; he was at his wit’s end, yet he took the wisest course possible. This is the beauty of it—when we are fools, we are wise; when we are weak, we are strong; when we don’t know what to do, we do the only right thing. Had Jehoshaphat taken any other course—had he gathered an army, raised troops, and forged weapons—he would certainly have been defeated. But in his uncertainty, he did exactly what he should have done: "Our eyes are upon you." He placed the matter entirely in God’s hands, saying, in essence, "You must fight our battles; You must take control. Our eyes are on You, waiting, hoping, believing in Your holy name, and expecting help from You, the only source of true help."

It is a painful process to be brought to the point of saying, "Our eyes are upon You," which implies that all other avenues of help have been exhausted. It suggests that the soul has looked elsewhere in vain, finally fixing its gaze upon God, knowing that help must come from Him alone.

I believe this is a distinctive mark of a true Christian—his eyes are on God. In the quiet of the night, in his daily life, in his business or at the market, whenever his soul is troubled, cast down, or perplexed, his eyes are on God. Only from God can help come. All other forms of aid are ineffective, leaving the soul unchanged and unsatisfied. We are only safe when our eyes are fixed on God. With our eyes on Him, we walk securely; if our eyes are on earthly things, we are bound to slip and stumble.