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 discouraged or afraid. Tomorrow, go out to face them, for Yahweh is with you.
2 Chronicles 20:17 HCSB
Have you ever been tired of fighting? Perhaps you feel as though you are just going from one battle to the next. Or perhaps you have had a time of peace, but suddenly it is though you are facing a massive attack. Maybe you are sizing up your enemy and thinking there is no one you can survive this one. Well, have no fear my friend.
I can tell you that for me, the hardest times in my battle were when God told me to position myself and stand still. I wanted to fight. I wanted to jump in and resolve the problem. I wanted to put a stop to this nonsense. I, I, I, that was my problem. Me, me, me is what gets me in trouble every time. You see when it is me, me, me, I can almost be certain that the enemy will defeat me. But when it is God, God, God, I can’t lose. I am assured of victory. But then there is that whole position yourselves and stand still. That took some practice, I must admit.
In our scripture passage today, King Jehoshaphat is a king that loves the Lord. He learns that not one, but two massive armies have joined forces with a few from another army and are coming against him and his people. Now, King Jehoshaphat didn’t lose his cool and tell everyone to scatter and run. He didn’t curse God and ask God why He would do such a thing to them. He called out to God and asked God for His help. He asked God to save them. He knew that God could save them from this massive attack. This story begins in Chapter 20 verse 1. In verse 15, God tells them through a prophet to not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast number, for the battle is not theirs, but God’s. God is telling them, “I got this, don’t worry.” Then in verse 16, he tells them exactly where these armies will be the next day and instructs them to go out to the edge of the valley where they will be stationed. In our scripture passage, the tells them to position themselves and stand still and then he tells them to do what I have found to be so awesome, “see the salvation of the LORD.” They don’t even have to break a sweat. They just have to show up and watch God save them. Now what’s really cool about this story is that once they went out to face these armies, these armies turned on each other. They destroyed each other. King Jehoshaphat and his men, had to do nothing more than stand still and watch the show. The only thing they had to do in this whole story is carry the massive amount of plunder from these armies back to their town. We are told that there was so much plunder that it took them three days to carry all of it back. Not only did God save them, but he blessed them for their obedience.
If you’ve read this blog more than once or twice, you know that Psalm 91 is my favorite chapter in the Bible. In verses 7 and 8 of Psalm 91, we are told that though a thousand may fall at our side and ten thousand at our right side that the pestilence will not reach us. We will only see it with our eyes and witness the punishment of the wicked when we make the Lord our refuge.
Maybe your life is going pretty well right now and you have no need for the Lord in your life. Well, let me tell you that as great as you may think it is, it can only get better with Him. But maybe your life seems to be one battle after another in a waging war that just drags on and on. Trust me, I’ve been there, done that and got the t-shirt. Stop fighting, position yourself. Get into a close relationship with God, seek refuge in Him. Trust in Him to fight this battle. Put on the armor that He gives you (Ephesians 6:10-18), and stand still, He’s got this. All you have to do is see His salvation. Watch Him work as he saves you from destruction. You will be amazed at what He can do.
Have a great day!