One of the kings of Judah was a man by the name of Jotham. His name means “Jehovah is perfect”. How beautiful it is to be a child of the King whose ways are perfect. Confident in His strength, He, as I humbly obey Him, makes my way perfect. This king Jotham followed the Lord even though he dwelt among people that lived corruptly.

Like Jotham, you and I dwell in midst of a crooked and perverse nation. Israel began to defect from the Lord when they took their spiritual and social cues from the nations instead of God’s Word. In the face of complacency, Jotham stood out for God. He carried out great building programs and rebuilt the high or Northern Gate6 in an attempt to encourage the worship of Jehovah. He took a stand for God, and unless we are willing to absorb the mockery and ridicule of belonging to Jesus, we will fade away spiritually, maintaining at best a form of godliness, without true depth.

What was the key to Jotham’s might? We can safely assume that he was a man of prayer and, although for some reason he didn’t enter the temple, he certainly must have been a worshipper of God. The key to Jotham’s strength is found in 2 Chronicles 17:6 which says, “So Jotham became mighty because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God.”

Beloved, do you and I prepare our ways before the Lord? Does He have the ‘right of way’ in our lives? Jesus has prepared a place for you; will you not prepare your ways for Him? We can’t even imagine what our eternal home will be like. Can we not allow the anticipation of that home to motivate us to order our steps right? I’m sure that Jotham wasn’t self-willed, nor indecisive. No, he simply prepared to walk with God and for God daily, and in doing so he found great strength.

As you prepare your way today, and this week, seek God’s face in prayer. Spend that time in His Word. Come what may, strength is assured when our path and God’s will are one and the same. “The way of the Lord is strength to the
upright”.