As my thank you for your faithful partnership this month, my team will send you our powerful teaching resource, How Do You Respond to a Crisis. This message shares life-changing truths that will equip you to respond to adversity the way Jehoshaphat did, with your eyes on God, your faith in His Word, and praise on your lips. Click here now ⟩
How are you responding to adversity right now?
Not last year. Not in some general, theoretical sense. Right now, today, in whatever it is you are facing. Because I believe the answer to that question has everything to do with where you will be six months from now.
You cannot avoid it. None of us can, not even God's children. But here is the difference between you and the world: You don't have to respond to adversity the same way the world does. You have a better way. You have a God who fights for you!
A King Who Trusted God
King Jehoshaphat was facing what you might call impossible odds in 2 Chronicles 20. A combined army, the Bible calls it a "great multitude," was marching against him and the people of Judah. This was a genuine, life-threatening, impossible crisis.
And what did Jehoshaphat do? He did not reach for a military strategy first. He did not call an emergency war council. He proclaimed a kingdom-wide fast, gathered the people together, and he prayed. In his prayer, he praised God for His power, recalled what God had already done for Israel, and then said something that has always moved me deeply.
These were his words, "...We have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You" (2 Chronicles 20:12 NKJV).
Do you see what he did? He acknowledged the problem honestly, no pretending, no false bravado, and then he turned his eyes to the Lord. That is the right response to adversity.
And God answered. The Spirit of the Lord spoke through a prophet and told Jehoshaphat and the assembly not to be afraid, for the battle was not theirs but God's.
The next morning, Jehoshaphat did something that seems foolish by the world's standards. He put the singers out in front of the army, and as they marched, they repeated one declaration over and over:
"Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever." - 2 Chronicles 20:21 NKJV
And while they praised, the Lord set ambushes against those enemy armies. Those armies turned on each other and destroyed themselves. When Judah arrived on the battlefield, they found no enemies. Only spoils. So much spoil it took them three days to gather it all.
Will You Praise Him for the Victory Before You See It?
This is where many believers stumble because it is not easy. Praising God when the enemy army is still on the horizon takes everything you have. But Psalm 100 reminds us, "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations" (Psalm 100:4 NKJV).
Praise is not just an emotional response to good news. It is a weapon, and an act of faith that declares what you believe. I believe God has already moved on my behalf, even though I cannot see it yet.
Don't Let the Enemy Steal Your Joy
I want to tell you something that Jerry preached for decades, and I have lived it firsthand. If the enemy can steal your joy, he can steal your strength.
Nehemiah 8:10 tells us, "...the joy of the Lord is your strength." Your ability to outlast adversity is directly tied to your strength. And your strength is directly tied to your joy. Which means if you allow adversity to drain your joy, you are also allowing it to drain your capacity to overcome.
The prophet Habakkuk described circumstances that would make most of us want to give up entirely. Failed crops, empty barns, dying flocks. Everything that sustained him was gone. And yet, he declared, "Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines... yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!" (Habakkuk 3:17-18 NLT).
If he could refuse to let his circumstances steal his joy, so can you.
Faith does not come by watching the news. Worry, fear, and dread are what come when you fill yourself with the world's negative voices. If you are going to strengthen your faith, you are going to have to draw closer to God.
Don't Leave the Spoils on the Battlefield
After Judah's battle was won, the people had to do one more thing: They had to go and gather the spoils. The victory was theirs, but they had to receive it. It took them three days.
Dear friend, Jesus came to give you an abundant, overflowing life (John 10:10).
Jesus declared, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed" (Luke 4:18 NKJV).
That is your inheritance. Don't leave it unclaimed. After the dust settles, receive what God has for you. Don't leave the spoils of God's victory on the battlefield. They are yours.
You Are Not Facing This Alone
I don't take lightly what you may be walking through right now. I know that adversity is real. You may be in the middle of your own "great multitude," with circumstances that feel impossible and situations that look hopeless from the natural standpoint.
But I also know this: the same God who fought for Jehoshaphat fights for you. The same God who refreshed Habakkuk in his darkest hour is with you right now. And the same God who has sustained and strengthened me is moving in your life today.
I am so grateful that God has linked us together in this ministry, and I want you to know that I think of you as someone I am standing with in faith. I am right here in your corner, speaking the Word of God over your life and believing with you for victory.
As my thank you for your faithful partnership this month, my team will send you our powerful teaching resource, How Do You Respond to a Crisis. This message shares life-changing truths that will equip you to respond to adversity the way Jehoshaphat did, with your eyes on God, your faith in His Word, and praise on your lips.
To give securely online and receive an immediate download link to this month's resource, visit JerrySavelle.org. You can also give by calling 1-866-576-4872, by texting "MAY2026" to 50155, or by using the enclosed reply card and postage-paid envelope.
Your faithfulness to this ministry makes it possible for us to reach more people with hope when it is needed most. Thank you for standing with us. That means more than I can say.
Before I close, I want to leave you with a promise from the Apostle Paul that has carried me through more than I can count. "There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish." Philippians 1:6 MSG
That is my prayer for you. He is not finished with your story. Your best days are not behind you. There are victories yet to be experienced, promises yet to be fulfilled, and spoils yet to be gathered.
The battle is the Lord's, and He always wins.
In His Love and mine,
Carolyn Savelle
P.S. Spend some time today in God's presence. Let Him fill you with joy, strength, and fresh faith. Shut out the noise of the world and let Him speak. And don't you dare leave the battlefield without your spoils. The victory is already yours. I'm praying for you and I'm standing with you. I hope to hear from you soon.
