How To Relax When Everyone Is Panicking by Archbishop Benson Idahosa: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Many people do not know how to live a relaxed life. God wants us to rest. Matthew 11:28-29 — "Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Hebrews 4 says there remains a rest for the people of God.

Jonah was sleeping at the bottom of the ship when the ship was shaken. But it was a wrong sleep — he was running from assignment. When they woke him up, they said: "You are the cause of this trouble." They cast him into the sea.

Jesus was sleeping at the hinder part of the ship on a pillow — and when He woke up, the tempest stopped. There is a rest that causes storms to cease, and a rest that is simply escape. The child of God is called to the first.

Jehoshaphat and the Three Nations

2 Chronicles 20:1-2 — After this, the children of Moab, the children of Ammon, and others besides the Amorites came against Jehoshaphat to battle. A messenger came and said: "A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea."

Imagine — you are well, at peace, minding your affairs. Your name is Jehoshaphat. And suddenly word comes: the Moabites, the Ammonites, and several other nations are coming against you for battle.

2 Chronicles 20:3 — Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

His first response was not to assemble the army. It was to seek God. He stood before the congregation and prayed:

2 Chronicles 20:6,12 — "O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven? And do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? 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."

When you don't know what to do, fix your eyes on God — not on the problem.

2 Chronicles 20:15,17 — Thus says the Lord: "Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's... You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord."

The battle is not yours. Position yourself. Stand still. See the salvation of the Lord.

2 Chronicles 20:21-22 — Jehoshaphat appointed singers to go before the army, singing: "Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever." And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah. They were defeated.

While Judah sang, God fought. That is the pattern. When the pressure is greatest — when everyone is panicking — the child of God stands still, praises, and watches.

You need to learn how your nerves should be calm and peaceful even when your age group is aging from worry. When others are afraid, they should look at you and glorify your Father in heaven.

Ambition and anxiety are not the same thing. You can build, plan, and go forward without being consumed by fear. The spirit of a person who knows God operates from rest — not from panic.