Today

5 min read

29 While Josiah was king, Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt went up to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah marched out to meet him in battle, but Necho faced him and killed him at Megiddo.
— 2 Kings 23:29

Again, Megiddo is the place where the great fall of “Babylon” occurs in the last days (Revelation 16:16ff). Armageddon means mountain of Megiddo. Megiddo is the place where great battles are fought. King Ahaziah died there, as well as Josiah.

Josiah was perhaps the most faithful of the kings of Judah. However, despite all of his reforms, God had determined that it was time for Judah to be punished for its sins, especially for all the idolatry under Manasseh (verses 26-27). Yet, even in his faithfulness, Josiah did not consult with God before attacking Necho (2 Chronicles 35:20-22), and it led to his death.

Josiah’s mistake is often made by faithful people of God. We put our trust in our faithfulness and forget to consult with God. We forget that our faithfulness is not what guides the course of history, and even our own lives, but the will of God. So we should always consult with God and trust in His will.

Does this mean that God will give us a crystal clear revelation of what to do? No. Our consulting with God is His will at the most personal level (there are higher levels). And He will guide us accordingly, whether we realize it or not.

Even for the faithful, we have no leverage with God. Our sins are piled high. And our sins (no matter how few they may be) may be the the final straw on the camel’s back with respect to God’s judgment in this world.

I’m pretty sure that for the vast majority of believers, this reality is not encouraging at all. And that may be so. That reality is not encouraging. But we have to remember that the course of history has already been set because of the weight of sin (because of my many sins and your many sins, as innocent as they may seem to us). The course of history has been set because of God’s determination to deal with sin and evil once and for all.

But even if this reality is not encouraging on human terms, I do not live a discouraging life. I am encouraged by the reality of God’s redemption in Jesus Christ. And to live a life of faith is to live in obedience to the word of God, as best as we can. And that means to share the love of Jesus Christ and to bear witness to Him.

Of anything I do in my life, sharing the love of Christ and bearing witness to Him is the most effective, productive, significant thing I can do in this world that will come to an end one day.

Father, I so often experience Your love and faithfulness when I walk in faith with You. But I also find that I so often take Your love and faithfulness for granted and start living on my own terms. Always remind me, Lord, that I need to follow after Your will every day of my life. In Jesus’s name. Amen.