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“So Jotham became mighty because he ordered his ways before the LORD his God”.
2 Chronicles 27:6
Every element of our faith seems to have nuclear potential. Consider the basic Christmas message that we believe the Creator sent His Son into the world as baby Jesus. Or the belief that when one repents of their sins and surrenders to Jesus, the Spirit of God Himself enters a person, regenerating them and connecting them to the Divine.
And these are just two elements.
There seems to be a ridiculous amount of life and power available for the one who believes.
Be careful of reducing the truth of Jesus to some kind of legend in the manner of King Arthur. Be careful of meshing the truth of Jesus with other truths as if His way of life competes with others. Be careful of compartmentalizing Jesus to some kind of “religious” sphere as opposed to some other sphere where the real grind of life happens.
If Jesus is the only truth, then…
Staggering.
Internal, nuclear explosions of LIFE. Light destroying darkness. Light overcoming dullness. Sharp. Focused. Intentional. Clear. Breathing clean, spiritual oxygen. Seeing right. Feeling full.
We are in the first week of 2024. Let’s get serious about Jesus and His Holy Kingdom.
Jotham is a Judean King whose story is told in 2 Chronicles 27. I think he can give us some powerful help in 2024 to clarify and sharpen our lives. Why Jotham? Because 2 Chronicles 27:6 says Jotham became “mighty.” Being called mighty is one thing, being called biblically mighty is another. Whatever Jotham did to order his ways before the LORD, he did so exceptionally well.
What’s the point of looking everywhere for self-help solutions when you can rest in Scripture and apply ancient lessons of life that prove successful regardless of era or geography?
We are going to see that his life offers three keys, not only to a great 2024, but to a great, winning life. I am not sure I will be able to pull this off, but I am going to try and tie every OVERFLOW in 2024 back to these three things. These keys are so profound and spread so far, deep, and wide that I think we can spend a year unpacking them in a variety of directions.
I offer these to you briefly here and will spend the year expanding on each. So let’s see what happens.
In 2 Chronicles 27:1-2 we learn the following, “Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok. He did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah had done; however he did not enter the temple of the LORD. But the people continued acting corruptly.”
The first key we learn from Jotham’s life – BE who the LORD created you to be. Jotham was twenty-five years old when he stepped into the title he was created to have. He was born to be a king in Judah. There was a time in Jotham’s life when he was not king. When his dad, Uzziah died, Jotham stepped into the role and embraced the title for which he was created. His identity was established by the LORD, the Creator and Giver of LIFE. He was ordained, not according to the agency or will of men, but according to the providential will of God Himself.
Similarly, you and I must step into BEing who God our Father created us to be. You have been ordained, not according to a bunch of men, but according to the providential will of God Himself. Consider the resting place in which you could live if you embraced BEing who God our Father has ordained you to be! You have been made a son or a daughter of the Creator of the Universe. You have been adopted into His family. He put His Holy Spirit in you. If your soul could be liberated from all other definitions, names, and labels and only be nourished by the Spirit’s truth about you what a difference would that make in you?
BE who you were created you to be.
The second key to a powerful 2024 is to BUILD what our Father has created you to build. 2 Chronicles 27:3-4 lists Jotham’s building projects. Our Father, Yahweh, did not create Jotham to sit on his hands or to be busy building his own stuff. Jotham had Kingdom building assignments.
Pew sitters do not exist in the Kingdom of God. Building your own life does not exist in the Kingdom of God. Building what you think God may want does not exist in the Kingdom of God.
Your life has been bought with a price, the blood of Jesus. Your eternal destination has been secured by God Himself. Your existence has great significance. You are to build what God our Father calls you to build in His way with His resources for His glory in His timing.
Consider the inner power of a man or woman who knows their days are spent building what the Living God has created them to build. He or she watches millions of others slaving on the world’s treadmill while he or she works in the Holy Spirit’s fullness.
Now, God our Father easily calls you to build a strong life. He also calls those who marry to build strong marriages and families. He also calls us to build those careers He has assigned to us. BUT, He also calls us to build people. Our building “projects” are intentionally building people. Investing in them. Loving them. Liberating them. Speaking truth to them. Sending them. God our Father cares about people. Jesus came and built people. As those in the Kingdom we are in the people business.
Whatever the other projects you are assigned, your life will never feel whole until you are about building those people you are called to build.
The last element in Jotham’s life that adds to his being called mighty is found in 2 Chronicles 27:5. “He fought also with the king of the Ammonites and prevailed over them…” In addition to BEing and BUILDing, Jotham was also FIGHTing. Jotham fought the battles our Father called him to fight. Notice that Jotham’s fighting correlated with his being and his building. He did not fight for the sake of fighting. He did not fight what he wanted to fight. Jotham fought against His Father’s enemies who sought to stop what he was building.
You must expect warfare as part of your calling. You cannot escape it, run from it, or ignore it. The cool thing about fighting in the way of Jotham is the presence of the Holy Spirit. You must learn to fight in His wisdom, strength, and direction. Holy Spirit fighting is not like any other kind of fighting. In this battle, light fights against darkness. Darkness in you, in others, and in culture.
Consider the echoes of Jotham in the Apostle Peter’s training from 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light.”
Be. Build. Fight.
This is 2024 LIFE in the OVERFLOW.
