No one wants their ship to sink in the Harbor - Part 2

Many adults and students enter college with great passion and graduate and go into the workforce looking for success in their future. Is success making the big dollars?

Ships were not designed and built to just sit and surely not to sink in the Harbor;  rather they are designed to sail in the seas regardless of the tough winds and waves they will encounter. But what about ships built that never get out of the harbor?

Some ships are made for trading, others for entertainment, some for fishing and some even for combat in protecting our shoreline. The bigger question for each of us today is “Why were we personally created?”

Jehoshaphat had to be devastated as he watched his ships after being built sink before they ever set sail on the sea. All his time, energy and investment ‘down the tubes’. The big question is WHY? Was God getting his attention in sinking ships that were built to seek gold? Had this great man of God who had seen great victories asked what had gone wrong?

Anyone that experiences losses should ask, “Lord, why?” We know that God wasn't against blessing him with treasures and riches. Earlier in his leadership he watched God single handedly defeat three nations without him lifting a hand. They took three days just to collect the riches! So it’s not that God was saying “No” to his entrepreneurial spirit. There is one other interesting development that we must take note of.

After his failure in joining partnership with King Ahab, he also joins up with King Amaziah. When we go against the grain of God in one instance, you would think the wakeup call would be loud and clear. Jehoshaphat came close to losing his own life in the partnership with King Ahab; now he sees Gods rebuke in teaming up with his son. “³⁵ Some time later King Jehoshaphat of Judah made an alliance with King Ahaziah of Israel, who was very wicked.³⁶ Together they built a fleet of trading ships at the port of Ezion-geber. ³⁷ Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu from Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat. He said, “Because you have allied yourself with King Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy your work.” So the ships met with disaster and never put out to sea (2 Chronicles 20:35-37).

Be cautious who you team up with in life. God wasn't about to allow him to have success in his new partnership and investment with a wicked King. Keep God as your partner in pressing forward in life. God’s advice in partnership and collaborations is priceless. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and He delighteth in his way. (Psalms 37:23)