Three ways to remain committed to the Lord - (I)
“The LORD was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father’s early years and did not worship the images of Baal.” (NLT) 2 Chronicles 17:3.
Jehoshaphat took a leaf from the book of his father Asa during the early years of the latter’s reign. Like his father, he started his reign by rejecting idol worship and all evil practices in Israel. He removed the pagan shrines and Asherah poles. Jehoshaphat’s alliance with Ahab (2 Chronicles 18) was quite similar to his father’s alliance with Ben-hadad (2 Chronicles 16:3).
Nevertheless unlike Asa, whose point of departure from the Lord came through his alliance, Jehoshaphat remained committed to the Lord. We can glean three lessons from Jehoshaphat’s rare commitment. In today’s message, we will consider the first lesson:
His decision to follow his father’s good works
Jehoshaphat had the benefit of hindsight from his father’s life to guide him. He knew the untold blessings the Lord showered on his father when he trusted Him. Again, he knew of the tragic death of his father when he departed from God. Jehoshaphat shunned the bad example of his father and learnt the good.
“Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God” (NLT) 3 John 11.
Reflection
In life, we are influenced by the character of our predecessors, mentors or older members of our family. But we have the choice to copy their good traits and ignore the bad ones.
How has the lifestyle of the people you look up to influenced your life?
Are you committed to following only their good examples?