And he said,  “Listen carefully, all Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat. This is what the LORD says:  ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of their vast number, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.   2 Chronicles 20:15 HCSB

Today’s scripture is one of my favorite stories in the Bible.  It is the story of King Jehoshaphat.  King Jehoshaphat loved the Lord, but made a few mistakes along the way.  He got tangled up with a wicked king and this didn’t please God, but he also removed some poles that were being used to worship false gods and set his heart on seeking the one true God.  It was a good thing that he did, because He and His people needed God in the worst way in this story.  You see not one, but two vast armies were coming against them.  So as a king who was seeking God and whose heart was in the right place, he did the best thing he could do.  He prayed.  He assembled all his people and they prayed.  The spirit of the Lord came on a man named Jahaziel and he relayed what the Lord had revealed to him, which is our scripture passage today.

Sometimes I forget that the battle is the Lord’s.  Sometimes I suit up and prepare to fight.  This is usually when I let my anger get the best of me. This is not good. God loves us and doesn’t like it when people plot evil against His children. He will avenge us (Romans 12:19).  That’s good news, right?  What’s even better is that He will fight our battles.  We just have to suit up, take our positions and stand firm.

So, I ask you today, are you battle weary?  Have you fought the good fight until you are tired of fighting?  Maybe it’s time to turn this thing over to God.  Maybe the armies are just too vast.  We sometimes think it makes us weak to turn our battles over to God.  But, think about it this way.  To get angry and fly off the handle and go after someone in a fit of rage is human nature.  To sit back, pray for them, and do what God tells us to do is really hard.  So I would argue that it takes a much stronger person to exhibit discipline and self-control.

Now, perhaps you are sitting back and enjoying life right now and not really dealing with any enemies.  I say, “good for you.”  But don’t get too comfortable.  Our lives are a series of trials and tribulations. If you are not in a time of testing, you have either just come through a time of testing or a time of testing is headed your way.  So are you ready?  Are you equipped with all that you need to do battle?  Do you daily dress in God’s armor (Ephesians 6:10-18)?  Have you taken your position?  As for me, I have learned that standing with God is a really good position in any battle.  Are you standing firm?  The devil will try to use distraction techniques and will try his best to throw us off balance, but we know that the Bible tells us to resist the devil and he will flee from us (James 4:7).

I have spent many years of my life trying to fight my own battles.  I finally came up against a battle that was just way too big for me to fight, but no problem.  God had it.  I just had to be still and know that He was God (Psalm 46:10).  I then had to be sure that I had every bit of armor that He offers along with the defensive weapon, which is the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:10-18).  Then came the hardest part, I had to learn to let go.  I had to live without any fear and fully trust in God.  I had to let Him fight this battle.

In case you are wondering how the battle from our scripture passage worked out, well it was awesome.  Jehoshaphat’s army did just what God said.  They even went into battle singing and praising God.  While they were singing and praising God and standing firm in their positions, these two other armies started fighting each other and destroyed each other.  There was not one man from the other two armies that survived.  Jehoshaphat’s army only had to go in and take the plunder.  The Bible tells us in 2 Chronicles 20:25 that they found a great amount of equipment and clothing and also articles of value-more than they could take away.  It took them three days to collect it.

This is the way to do battle folks.  Are you battle weary?  I have been there and done that and got the t-shirt.  But once I did like Jehoshaphat and his people and gave it all over to God, I realized that it was much easier to let God fight the battle.  It is much easier to praise God and stand firm than to fight a battle that we cannot win on our own.  Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:28-30 to come to him when we are weary and burdened and He will give us rest.

Isn’t it time that you gave the battle over to the Lord?  Isn’t it time that you stopped being frightened and discouraged?  Giving my battles over to God and trusting in Him was the best move I ever made.  I strongly encourage you to try it.

Have a great day!