At Your Wit's End (Part 2)

Jehoshaphat was the son of King Asa and a woman named Azubah. He was a young man of 35 when he became king over Judah:

1 Kings 22:41-44 "Jehoshaphat the son of Asa had become king over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel.  Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.  And he walked in all the ways of his father Asa. He did not turn aside from them, doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Nevertheless the high places were not taken away, for the people offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.    Also Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel."

Details of Jehoshaphat’s administration of the kingdom of Judah are recorded in 2 Chronicles chapters 17-19. Jehoshaphat immediately strengthened Judah’s military forces, sent priests and Levites throughout the kingdom to teach God’s law, and established a righteous judgment system. The Chronicles declare concerning him:

2 Chronicles 17:3-6 "Now the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the former ways of his father David; he did not seek the Baals,  but sought the God of his father, and walked in His commandments and not according to the acts of Israel.  Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah gave presents to Jehoshaphat, and he had riches and honor in abundance.  And his heart took delight in the ways of the Lord;   moreover he removed the high places and wooden images from Judah."

When a man chooses God’s way it won’t be long until his commitment is challenged.  This is exactly what happened in the account recorded in 2 Chronicles 20 which opens with the phrase “It happened after this...”  After what?
 
-After Jehoshaphat made a commitment to walk God’s way. 

-After he established righteous judgment and instruction in God’s law. 

-In the midst of “delighting himself in the ways of the Lord”.

-That is when he received the bad report:

2 Chronicles 20:1, 2 "It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat.   Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi)."

When you are doing your best to live for God,  ordering your life and ministry by His Word, and establishing yourself in holiness is when Satan and his demonic forces launch their fiercest attacks.
 
When Jehoshaphat heard that the enemy surrounded him, he cried out to God saying, in 2 Chronicles 20:12 “We have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us, nor do we know what to do."  

This is not the way most of us talk today. We boast of our great power in the face of adversity.  We declare, “Greater is He within me than he that is in the world.”  But at the first hint of disaster, we retreat in fear and dismay. We really don’t know what to do, but we act like we know it all.  Jehoshaphat humbly admitted his dependence on God.

Jehoshaphat was at his wit’s end, which means he came to the end of his own mental and emotional resources.  Have you ever been at your wit’s end?  Are you there right now?  Do you know where the expression “wit’s end” originated?  You may be surprised to learn that it comes from the Bible:
 
Psalm 107 details what it is like to be at your wit’s end.  It is compared to the uncontrolled environment of a raging storm:
 
Verses 25-27 "For He commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up the waves of the sea. They mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the depths; their soul melts because of trouble.  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end. 

Verse 15 "For He commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up the waves of the sea."

-Your “wit’s end” is a place of instability marked by spiritual, emotional, and mental “ups and downs”:

Verse 26 "They mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the depths; their soul melts because of trouble."

-At your wit’s end your soul or inner man is “melted” and you are spiritually famished:

Verses 5 and 26 "Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them...They mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the depths; their soul melts because of trouble."  (Psalm 107:5 and 26)
 
-Your “wit’s end” it is a condition of spiritual anorexia  paralleling that of physical anorexia in the natural  body:

Verses 12 and 27. "..They fell down, and there was none to help...They reel to and fro, and stagger like a   drunken man, and are at their wits’ end."

-Your “wit’s end” is compared by the Psalmist to hard labor in Verse 12. It is a lonely place, a “solitary way” where there is no one to help:

Verses 4 and 12 say, "They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; they found no city to dwell in...there was none to help."

When the difficulties of life bring you to your wit’s end, as they did Jehoshaphat, things appear to be out of control.  Psalm 107:25 indicates, however that the stormy winds and waves are actually under God’s authority. “But why would He allow a devastating storm in my life?” you question. “Why would God permit an enemy alliance against me? Why would He allow me to come to my wit’s end?”

Because it's at your wit’s end, when you feel deserted, powerless, and fearful, that you learn what to do when you don’t know what to do. Once you master God's strategies you can apply them to every difficulty of life you encounter.  While others are running around wringing their hands in despair you will know exactly what to do!