II Chronicles 28:9a But a prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded;

More often than we might like to admit we can get a little gloomy. Especially if we care about the things of God. It seems ironic. If we follow God we should have every reason to be optimistic and hopeful. But then we look around. We read the news. It can seem like not very many around us are serving the Lord.

The Northern Kingdom - Israel - was a bad place. The books of I and II Kings gives their history and we can see that every one of their kings led the people into more and more evil. I and II Chronicles really doesn’t mention them much, choosing to focus on the Southern Kingdom. It was bad. Idolatry was everywhere. “But a prophet of the Lord was there…”

The man or woman of God is not alone for God is with us. But we’re not even alone when it comes to people. It might seem like it. Elijah felt that way. (He lived in the Northern Kingdom.) But God showed him how wrong he was.

We might be praying for someone far away from us and far away from God. We wonder how they can ever be reached for Him. “But a prophet of the Lord was there…” God has people there. He cares more than we do and He can send His agents wherever He chooses. We can trust Him.

Also, we should consider that if we are following God, we might be that ‘prophet of the Lord who was there.’ God might well be ready to use us for His work. We should listen!

Blessings,

Pastor Russ