26^th August

“The Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the men standing there…….He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says: Don’t be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is NOT yours but GOD’S!!”

2 Chronicles 20:14-15

God is faithful. He heard the prayer of the people and answered with such comforting words. In fact they were not just comforting, they were incredible words. Not only did God promise to be with them, not only did God promise His comfort but He included the promise, that the battle would not be theirs but His.

Jehoshaphat was completely in surrender to God. He knew his people did not have the resources to defeat this mighty enemy. “We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what do, but we are looking to YOU for help.” His only option was to trust God. In fact there was no better place to put his trust.

In His grace, God answered their prayers but not in the way you and I would think. He didn’t say, ‘go to war and I will be with you to help you defeat the enemy’. In fact He said the opposite. “March out against them… but you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the Lord’s victory.” WOW. You will not need to fight…. Just watch me win for you! How powerful is that. How incredible must those words have been for the listeners. How comforting. How humbling.

Yet those words are not some old forgotten words, hidden somewhere in a dusty old book. They are as true today as they were for Jehoshaphat and his army. Sometimes, yes we are called to fight in God’s strength, but there are sometimes when God’s grace just says, ‘sit back and watch me gain victory in your life’. Is not a passive attitude, but it takes complete trust in God. It takes complete submission to His greater power. It takes time to listen to what God is saying.

If there is something in your life that you can’t see an end to or a way out of, then let Jehoshaphat’s prayer be yours today. ‘God I look to you. You are where my help comes from. I don’t know what to do but I trust You.’ Then let go and completely trust God to fight for you, just as He did for Jehoshaphat!