29^th – 30^th August

Weekend Edition

“Listen to me all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in His prophets, and you will succeed. . . . the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising Him for His holy splendour.”

2 Chronicles 20:20-21

Amazingly, after they had received their promise of victory from the Lord, the people obeyed and marched out to the battlefield to stand and not fight, in God’s victory, not theirs.

The people of Judah could have easily thought that if God is going to win this battle for us, why do we even need to go to the battlefield? Or on the contrary they could have been so fearful thinking that maybe God would not do what He said He would do! Yet none of these, was the response from King Jehoshaphat and his people. They humbly obeyed God, in full confidence of His words and marched to the battle ground. Even at this time, they could do nothing but trust God.

If there were any doubts that God would fulfill His word, they would have been quickly stripped away at the sound of heartfelt worshippers on the front line, singing and praising God.

There are so many lessons we can learn from this passage and put into practice in our daily lives. Firstly, that when God promises us something, or answers our prayers, we should have full confidence in His answer, even if we can’t see it straight away. Sometimes that involves us standing firm even when the enemy or troublesome times approach. Secondly, the best way to render doubt powerless is to worship. Worship in victory, worship in defeat and worship when you are waiting. King Jehoshaphat’s wise move encouraged his troops to remember the faithfulness of God, remember God’s promise and to keep their minds fixed on Him, even in the midst of a battle ground.

Let us remember King Jehoshaphat’s wise words .. . . . “Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm!!”