Barbara, along with guest Kimberly, delves into the wisdom of 2 Chronicles 20, teaching us how to embrace rest and delight in the Lord’s Word. Through the lens of King Jehoshaphat’s story, they reveal the fragile yet powerful practice of surrendering our desires to God’s will. This episode encourages listeners to cultivate faithfulness, redefine rest, and truly delight in moments of waiting, trusting God’s ultimate plan for our lives.
Welcome to Call to Freedom with Barbara Carmack. This is Jimmy Lakey, and I’m delighted that you are joining us for this half hour. You can reach Call to Freedom at Box 370367, Denver, Colorado 80237, or by going to the website at www.freedomstreet.org. If you want to leave a message or order a Word Power Daily Reading Bible Guide or a Freedom Street Express newsletter, you can call us toll free at 1-877-917-7256 and leave your name and address, including your zip code. If you want to talk to Barbara right now, she is expecting your call. You may call that same toll-free number, 1-877-917-7256 to speak to her. And now, let’s join Barbara in the studio.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to Call to Freedom. Do you know God’s thoughts are for you? His thoughts and his heart are toward you today to keep you, to guide you, and to bless you as only he can. And if you read Jeremiah 29 11, you know that his thoughts are for good, for your welfare, and not for evil or calamity or accidents. So as we cover ourselves with the blood of Jesus every day, and I hope you do that. I hope that becomes a habit just like brushing your teeth. Yep. To cover yourself from the top of your head to the soles of your feet with the blood of Jesus. He will keep you. He will keep you strong. And we are sad today with our Jewish brothers and sisters at the murder of two Jewish embassy staff. They were just walking out of the museum there in Washington, D.C., and were shot down, murdered. by a man who was shouting free Palestine and he doesn’t even know what he’s really yelling. And I pray that so much of this is going to come to a culmination of… We’re getting justice. I really feel so many times that we need justice. We need justice in our homes. We need justice in our state. We need justice in our nation. And so God bless you as you pray for these precious families. I know… that they were a couple, they loved each other. He had a ring for her, and he was just going to ask her to marry him. Oh, I just felt in my heart the sadness that he was going to take her to Jerusalem to have her meet his parents there. Oh, Father God, I thank you for your comfort, Holy Spirit, for these precious families. that lost such vibrant young people. I thank you, Lord God, that your justice will prevail. Your justice will come down like waters and your righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. I thank you and I praise you, Father God. Well, and the big, beautiful bill passed the House last night with many who were not sleeping because it went on for hours and hours. And I was praying that Trump’s biggest tax cut bill ever is going to influence every level of democracy. population here in the United States, including middle class. And now it’s going to the Senate. So if you’ll join with me in prayer that it will pass and people will see relief soon because some of the Former administrations’ bills are still being processed, and they’re still in effect. And so we want some tax cuts here. So thank you for praying for that big, beautiful bill to pass in the Senate. I love the way President Trump labels certain things. He’s such a creative president. He’s always thinking of new things to speak of. And it’s such a blessing to watch him. I do. I have the news on a lot of the time because I just want to see what new thing is coming up. You are blessed to dispense for in him you live and move and have your being. And it’s such a privilege to have you join us today, to have us on the air and supported by you in prayer and also in donations. God bless you. This has been a wild day, and I don’t know if you… Understand sometimes behind the scenes, things aren’t going really well, but we’re going to maintain our goal of teaching and preaching about Jesus Christ and him crucified as Paul was talking about in first Corinthians two. Now, yesterday, Kimberly was talking about. about things that our thoughts are not his thoughts, our ways are not his ways. But God, we have to be at rest, my friend, in everything we do in every situation. No stress. I know that sounds so impossible. It really does. But I want to read just a little bit of 2 Chronicles. I think this was the next thing that Kimberly was going to be talking about. And she sent me a few notes. I’m so thankful for e-mail. And it’s 2 Chronicles 20. You know it. You know it. Joyce Meyer teaches it. Jack Hibbs teaches it. Alan Jackson teaches it. It’s just a well-known scripture in the Old Testament. 2 Chronicles 20, 10 through 23. And King Jehoshaphat is the king of Judah. And you’ll find out in Chronicles, 1 and 2 Chronicles are mainly talking about the tribe of Judah. Because where did Jesus come from? The tribe of Judah. So it’s really talked about a lot in the Chronicles. So here’s 2 Chronicles 20, 10 through 23. Now behold, the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir. And these are distant relatives of Judah. Yep, they are. They’re all in the same family as we are in the family of Abraham. If you go back far enough, you and I are brothers and sisters in Abraham. Now behold, the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt. These four armies, these four nations would not allow Israel Israel to go into the land of Egypt to take less route in their journey. And they turned aside from them and did not destroy them. See how they are rewarding us by coming to drive us out from your possession, which you have given us as an inheritance. Oh, God, will you not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us. Now, this is King Jehoshaphat. We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you. Sometimes, friends, we don’t know what to do. We really don’t. We’ve planned everything so well, and it just died. What do you do? Oh, I hope you’re doing like King Jehoshaphat. And are you on with me, Kimberly? I am, and I’m listening to this and going, yes, exactly.
SPEAKER 02 :
We plan things, and then they just crumble. And what do we do?
SPEAKER 01 :
What do we do?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes, that is such a good word for today. The question is a good question, and I know that when we stop in the middle of our ideas, our plans, our agendas, our routines, our schedules… In the middle of what we’re doing, if we would just stop, which I just had the chance to do that. You can probably tell I’m on the phone, on a phone link instead of on my regular link, because something went down. We don’t know exactly what it was, but something, we had our good plans, right? Yes. And something just went awry.
SPEAKER 01 :
Something just crumbled. But God brought about another plan. I want to read the rest of this, or talk about it at least, from 2 Chronicles 20, Kimberly. This is so beautiful. Yeah. In the midst of the assembly, all the people gathered together, shaking and fearful. Here were four armies coming against Judah, and they were so less in number. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jehaziel, the son of Zechariah. And I’ll tell you, friends, you need to be brave and courageous in the face of danger because you might be the one that has a message from God. And he said, listen, all Judah inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat. Thus says the Lord to you. Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s. Tomorrow, go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley. Even tells them where these armies are going to be. You need not fight this battle. Station yourself. Stand and see the salvation of the Lord. And what did they do the next morning, Kimberly? This is so good. Well, you’re the one reading it there. Oh, okay. I’m going to tell you. I don’t have it right in front of me. Oh, okay. I know this almost by heart because this is one section that Darren just loved to read about. And he loved to talk about trusting in the prophets and you will be established and put your trust and you will succeed.
SPEAKER 02 :
You didn’t even have to fight. They just gather it all in.
SPEAKER 01 :
They just gather in all the goodies. They didn’t need to bring anything but their voices because as they started out toward that valley where they were facing four evil enemies… God put songs in their mouth and they all the time, all the way there to where the battle was going to take place. They saying, give thanks to the Lord for his loving kindness is everlasting over and over singing. Give thanks to the Lord for his loving kindness is everlasting. Give thanks to the Lord for his loving kindness is everlasting. Can you see a million people singing that and going forth into battle? Not now. Yeah. That’s not how we normally do it, is it? No, it is not. But God has promised in Zechariah 4, 6, not by might, not by all the artillery you have around you, not by might nor by power, but by my spirit. And I’m so glad, I’m so blessed that Jehaziel heard from Holy Spirit and he talked to the whole crowd of people. Kimberly, all it takes is one person, one person to change an event.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s exactly right. And Jehaziel, he actually had the vision of what we’re really here for. Yes, we’re going to encounter battles, strife, tribulations, struggles. We are going to run into those things in this life. However, our main goal is to delight ourselves in the Lord. And talking about delight, we’re going to tie that right into the idea of Sabbath that we were talking about yesterday. Because Sabbath is not just rest. It is rest, but it’s not only rest. It is also delighting. The definition of that word includes the idea of delighting yourself. And what is delight? Delight is when you are really pleased, you’re highly pleased and extremely gratified. Gratification is a satisfaction and delight. it encompasses all of that, being gratified, being pleased, having pleasure. It’s also soft and tender and pliable. You sent me some notes like that.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yes. Oh, and we’re taught to be so bold and hard, and it’s the opposite, Kimberly. It’s that little lamb again. It’s that little description of a lamb, so helpless in some situations. God wants us… Yes.
SPEAKER 02 :
You have it in your notes. I’ll let you read it because you’re the one that sent what true delight is.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yes. Well, in the Hebrew. Oh, let’s see. Where is it? I’m jumping all around. Yes, I know. Just a minute. It does mean pliable and gentle and delighting in the things of the Lord. That’s what the Hebrew of delight means. And so we’ve found several things. verses including a verse about the sabbath kimberly in isaiah 58 verse 13 and 14 keep the sabbath day holy don’t pursue your own interests on that day but enjoy the sabbath and speak of it with delight as the lord’s holy day with delight yes with delight so true delight in him
SPEAKER 02 :
is taking our sights off of what we want and focusing on what He wants. And I met with a friend early this morning just to have a time of worship at our church. We set aside time to delight ourselves in the gift of music together and harmonizing together and offer that back to our Creator and our Father God. And we both realized how easy it was to start praying for what we wanted. We have hopes for the next few months, the summer months. She’s a teacher, so she has the summer off, and she’s got some goals for the summer. And we both had ideas of what our goals might be, and it was just kind of sneaking into our prayer time. And we both stopped and refocused and went, oh, Lord. Please help us stay focused on what you want. What do you want? Help us delight ourselves in you. And there’s a song that immediately came up. It just says, I’m sorry that I come with my agenda. I’m sorry that I forget you’re enough. And we just started singing that together. And he met us in such a tangible way. He collapsed our time. and also poured eternity into our time together. And we felt so satisfied, truly gratified, highly gratified, and came away delighted, really delighted. We came away from that time of worship feeling rested, a true kind of rest, because we had just spent that seeking what He wanted. Yes, we get distracted by the things that we want, And we get distracted by the things that happen to us. I have another friend today that was caught in traffic and trying to make it to a destination in time for a set engagement. And that kind of situation causes angst and anxiety and worry. But what would happen if we could turn off that distraction of worry that causes us to just go down that path of anxiety and What if we just spent that time searching for what our holy beloved may want in that moment?
SPEAKER 1 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 02 :
And I’m not great at it yet, but I even got to practice it just a few minutes ago when the link to the radio station went down. I don’t know why it went down, but I just sat there and I went, you know what? I’m not going to worry about this right now. I just want to know what you want in this time. And he must have wanted you to start talking about 2 Chronicles 20 because that is such a good section in how we go ahead of the storm with praises and putting our sights on him, asking him what he wants. He wants to be glorified. He wants us to recognize him in every moment. And so I’m thankful for those times. I’ve even been trying to practice this at red lights. You know, when you’re wanting to get somewhere, you kind of want all green lights. But I thank God when a red light comes, I thank him for slowing me down. And I ask him, what do you want? What do you want me to see right here? What do you want me to hear from you? Or what do you want me to speak out loud while I’m waiting? You know, we just think of waiting as a waste of time in this Western culture. But when a pregnant mama is waiting for the day that her little one arrives, she’s growing. She is increasing. We need to start thinking of waiting as a time of increase.
SPEAKER 01 :
That’s really good, Kimberly. Usually when we go through these experiences, this pressure, these really tight places in our lives, we’re not saying anything. Lord, you help me in this situation. You’re trying to teach me, aren’t you? Usually we say, Lord, why did this happen? Lord, why is this happening to me? And we need to change that around and say, Lord, what are you trying to teach me right now? Yeah, what can I do for you right now? Yes, that’s right. And so he says over and over again in Psalm 37, do not fret. Do not fret. Do not worry. Do not fret. Do not be anxious. Rest in the Lord. Wait patiently for him. Cease from anger because see, anger riles up in you because you’re not getting to your destination or the situation you’re in is not turning out the way you wanted it to. He continues in verse 8 of Psalm 37. Do not fret. It only leads to evil doing. Only leads to evil doing because that anger is going to turn inward and affect us more and more. So when he says in Psalm 37, committing yourself, committing yourself to the things of God, he really means that. Commit your life to the things of God and focus on him. Yes. Yes.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes. In verse three, it says, trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. I love that idea because we’re in this land. We’re in this finite world that is broken. And He’s asking us to dwell in it. Dwell in this land that is finite, this land that does not bring you satisfaction, this land that is broken and sometimes brings real pain and suffering. Dwell in this land and cultivate faithfulness. Grow in your faith, knowing that God’s got it. He knows what He’s doing, and He has got something so good. Not just for the next life, but for the next season in this life.
SPEAKER 01 :
In this life, yes.
SPEAKER 02 :
He has goodness, yes. So delight yourself in the Lord. That’s the fourth verse of Psalm 37. Delight yourself in the Lord. And he will give you the desires of your heart.
SPEAKER 01 :
Now, I had some wrong teaching. And I believe most of you listening may have had some wrong teaching about this. Verse 4 of Psalm 37, delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. You want a new car? So you’re saying, oh, thank you, Lord. I’m going to get a new car because I delight in you. That doesn’t mean that at all. It will come as we delight in him first. But it’s got to be him first, Kimberly. It has to be God first. He’s a jealous God. He wants all of you, all of you listening. He wants all of your heart, not just part.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, when was the last time that we thanked him for not giving us what we wanted?
SPEAKER 01 :
That’s true.
SPEAKER 02 :
We ask for certain things and we don’t realize the extra pressure it’s going to put on us. Yes. And so being able to say, thank you, God, that you did not give me that position that I was longing for or that position. particular house that is now crumbling or that you know there are just different things that we can look back on and say thank you god that you rescued me you truly knew the desire of my heart and you gave me the true desire of my heart and not just my lust that’s right i want to take more time to just thank him for what he did not give me i i want to sit in that and oh i want more time with him I really want to be worshipping Him because He is the desire of my heart. Yesterday we were talking about how we live in this finite world, but He is an infinite God and He planted infinite desires in us that can only be met by Him. We cannot meet those desires. We’ll never be satisfied in this realm. with these finite things around us. Do you remember that song? It was the Rolling Stones, I believe, in the 1960s. I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.
SPEAKER 01 :
Oh, Can’t Get No Satisfaction.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah. I wasn’t into that scene, but yeah. I mean, that was a worldwide well-known song, yes.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, I’ve just heard some of the replays and some of the ways that it’s put in movies and stuff, but… It’s really true. We cannot get satisfaction out of this world because our infinite desires can never be met. by the finite things in this in this realm even king solomon who i think is quite possibly the richest and smartest man who ever lived yes and even with all the wisdom he had and the way that he tried everything he had the resources to try everything this world has to offer And his declaration in the end was that it’s all vanity, meaning worthless and futile. And so when we think of who we were really made for, then when we turn our eyes to him in every situation and say, this is your life. I want to live your life for you. And what is it that you would like me to see right now? What is it you want me to hear? What would you like to hear come out of my mouth? That is the way to be truly delighted and to be filled up, to have the kind of energy, that Zoe life energy, the grace, that tangible grace that is, alive and active in us. That’s how you have it, is by staying in touch with him and wanting him to be delighted, wanting his dream to come true first before your dream.
SPEAKER 01 :
That’s right. Psalm 119 verses 11 through 16 says, Your word have I treasured in my heart that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord, teach me your statutes. With my lips I have told of all the ordinances of your mouth. See, with our lips we need to tell people about God, about the word of God. I have rejoiced in the way of your testimonies as much as in all riches. I’d rather talk about you, Lord, than getting rich. I will meditate on your precepts and regard your ways. I shall delight in your statutes. I shall not forget your word. See, true delight in him is taking our sights off of what we want and focusing on what he wants. Ego and pride are gone. They’re gone.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 01 :
They take a back seat. Yes.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 01 :
Amen.
SPEAKER 02 :
And that is a true resting place. When we are developing that kind of trust in him, he knows how to fulfill us better than anything else that we think we need to be fulfilled. And we simply don’t have what it takes to accomplish, to perfect, to complete the works that would satisfy us and what we are desiring to we don’t we don’t even see it clearly but christ does and there was so much in his declaration it is finished when he said it is finished that was infinitely more than what we see from where we sit in this finite realm it was in every dimension that it is finished and when we cultivate that trust in our lord and we realize that he knows better than we do, then we can start eliminating some of the things that really bog us down. Yesterday, we ended the program by talking about how you are actually ruthlessly eliminating things some family photos from your home. When we recognize that there are things that we’ve surrounded our life with that are no longer life-giving, but they’re bogging us down, then it might be time for a house cleaning. That might be a literal thing, like what you’re doing right now, literally going through your things in your home and eliminating what no longer serves you well. It might be a careful evaluation of your thought processes, asking the Lord to help you eliminate thoughts that pull you into negative places. In either case, the goal is to enter into His rest, and that is a true delight for Him, but also for you.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you, Kimberly. I know it was kind of difficult for you to get connected here in Denver, but you did it. God did it. And thank you so much for being here. God bless you, Kimberly. It’s been a delight. And for all of you who are going to experience a four-day weekend, God bless you and take joy.
SPEAKER 03 :
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Barbara, along with guest Kimberly, delves into the wisdom of 2 Chronicles 20, teaching us how to embrace rest and delight in the Lord’s Word. Through the lens of King Jehoshaphat’s story, they reveal the fragile yet powerful practice of surrendering our desires to God’s will. This episode encourages listeners to cultivate faithfulness, redefine rest, and truly delight in moments of waiting, trusting God’s ultimate plan for our lives.
