In the middle of the congregation, the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel (son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite from Asaph’s descendants), 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 this vast number, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.  Tomorrow, go down against them.  You will see them coming up the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley facing the Wilderness of Jeruel.  You do not have to fight this battle.  Position yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.  He is with you, Judah and Jerusalem.  Do not be afraid or discouraged.  Tomorrow, go out and face them,  for Yahweh is with you.’ ”  2 Chronicles 20:14-17  HCSB

If you have been reading my blog for a while, then you know that this comes from my favorite battle in the Bible.  This is God’s answer to Jehoshaphat’s prayer.  I want to take a minute to look at this situation.  You see in the beginning of 2 Chronicles, chapter 20, King Jehoshaphat learns that a vast number of people are coming to fight against him and his people.  Verse 1 tells us that it was the Moabites and the Ammonites together with some of the Meunites.  We are told in verse 2 that it is a vast number.

So, have you ever felt like evil is just attacking you from every direction?  Have you ever had two or more evil people come against you?  Now as Christians, we know that the devil works through evil people.  We know that the devil uses people to try to distract us.  John 10:10 tell us that a thief (or the devil) comes only to steal.  The devil wants to steal your joy.  This same verse tells us that the devil comes to kill.  The devil wants to kill your peace, your joy, your witness.  We are also told in John 10:10 that the devil comes to destroy.  If he can’t turn you away from Jesus, he wants to destroy your witness.  He wants to make you totally ineffective at doing what God has called us to do and that is lead others to Christ.  One thing he uses is fear.  Fear leads to anxiety.  Anxiety is a great distraction.  We can be more easily attacked when we are distracted.  This is why it is so important to be focused on God.  If we keep our focus on God, we know that He handles our problems and our battles. (Matthew 6:33).

Imagine that you are King Jehoshaphat.  You have just been informed that these vast armies are coming against you.  Pretty scary, right?  Jehoshaphat knew that his army could not withstand the attack from  these other armies.  He knew that his army just wasn’t big enough to survive this.  Verse 3 tells us that Jehoshaphat was afraid and he resolved to seek the Lord.  Then Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast for all Judah, who gathered to seek the Lord.  Verse 4 tells us that they came from all the cities to seek the Lord.  So Jehoshaphat gathered all of his people and said “hey we need to fast and do some serious praying, because we have big problems”.  They fasted and they prayed.  Now when we fast we give up something that we really like such as food, like a certain type of food, television, and/or social media.  We give up anything that may get in the way of our seeking the Lord.  We give up anything that may distract us.  In many Bible stories when people were in difficult situations, they not only prayed but they fasted as well.  They devoted themselves to calling out to God and removed distractions that might cause them to not hear God’s reply.

Jehoshaphat prayed to God.  He reminded God that these were the same people that God had not allowed them to destroy on their way to the promised land.  He told God that now these people were coming against them in vast numbers and asked God to help them.  Maybe God didn’t want these people destroyed before because He had bigger plans.  Funny how God works things out sometimes isn’t it?  I mean the Israelites could have just destroyed these armies one at a time as they were destroying many other nations to get to the Promised Land, but God obviously had other plans.  God knows the plans he has for us.  Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that he has good plans for us, plans for our welfare and plans to not harm us.  So now this vast army is coming against Judah and Jerusalem and they cry out to God for help.

Our scripture passage today is God’s response to their cry.  I want you to pay careful attention to what God tells them.  The first thing He tells them is to not be afraid or discouraged.  Easier said than done, right?  But one of my favorite verses in the Bible is verse 15.  He not only tells them not to be afraid or discouraged but He tells them that the battle is His not theirs.  How awesome is that.  It’s not even their battle.  It’s God’s battle.  He then tells them which way they will be coming from.  He makes  them aware of the enemies route for attack.  He tells them that they don’t have to fight this battle, but that they must position themselves and stand still.  Then he tells them that they will see the salvation of the Lord.  He tells them they don’t have to fight but they have to suit up, get out there and watch as God fights this battle and saves them.  They get a front row seat to the glory of God!  How awesome is that?!

There are a few important things to remember here.  First and foremost, Jehoshaphat loved the Lord.  We see in 1 Kings that Jehoshaphat sought the Lord in all things.  Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding;  think about Him in all your ways and He will guide you on the  right paths. King Jehoshaphat trusted in the Lord and the first thing he did was to go to Him in prayer.  He fasted to remove distractions and he listened and did what God told him to do.

Now the really cool thing here is that Jehoshaphat sought the Lord, prayed, did what God said and these vast armies ended up destroying each other.  Now all this happened back in the years somewhere between 874-850 BC, which was the time of Jehoshaphat’s reign, but isn’t it funny how God works things out the same way for us today?  Have you ever seen people fighting turn on each other?  I have seen evil people come against a good person and before you know it, the good person is standing tall and the evil people have turned on each other.  Funny how that works out, isn’t it?

If you are facing a huge battle today, remember Jehoshaphat and these vast armies that came against him and his people.  Remember 2 Chronicles 20:15.  The battle is not yours, but it is God’s.  If you are focusing on God, remember He is focusing on you and handling all your needs.  Don’t let the evil ones distract you.  Suit up, stand firm, and watch the Lord save you from the evil ones.

Have a great day!