“You do not have to fight this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. He is with Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Tomorrow go out to face them, for Yahweh is with you.” (HCSB)
Judah’s king Jehoshaphat was very concerned, along with the people of Judah, because a coalition of Moabite and Ammonite troops were coming to fight and attempt to destroy them. Jehoshaphat took the matter to the Lord in prayer and 2 Chronicles 20:17 is the answer that he received. The words, “You do not have to fight this battle” stood out to me like a neon sign. How many times have we come upon hard times in our lives and we were trying everything that we could to overcome and failed. This was because we forgot two basic truths that the Bible teaches us: (1) “You do not have to fight the battle.” (2) “The Lord is with you.” We think sometimes that the only resources that we have are those immediately at hand. Frankly, there are things that God expects us to handle, but even then, He wants us to depend on Him and know that He will fend for us. The first thing that Jehoshaphat and Judah were told to do is to “stand still.” This means that they were to quit trying what they had at hand and contemplate on what God could do. When we are going through trying times we need to stand still and get alone with the Lord and put our total dependence upon Him. The psalmist gave us some of the same advice in Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” Someone is reading this right now who is struggling with things in his or her life that seem impossible to overcome. Hear the word of God: “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.” “Be still and know that (He is) God.” Stop struggling and trust. The second thing that they were told to do is to, “fear not, nor be discouraged.” If we believe that God is standing in the gap for us, we do not need to be afraid. However, if we have fear in our hearts, we just need to ignore that fear and just trust that God will prevail for us. If He lets us go through the valley that we dread, He will be with us and sustain us through it. If He takes us out of the valley that we dread, we will need to remember that He was with us. I can’t promise you that God will deliver you from everything that you face that is tough, but I can promise you that He will deliver you through whatever it is that you are facing. Either way, you are the winner for it. So do not be afraid and do not be discouraged, for God has not forgotten, nor has He forsaken you. Stand still and trust in His power, love and grace. The third thing that they were told to do is: “Tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.” The battle is the Lord’s, but He expects us to obey Him and do our part as He delivers us. What we need to do when we face seemingly hopeless things is to stand still, trust God and then go do whatever it is that He tells us to do. He will not lead us astray. He will not forsake us in the middle of the battle. He will not forget that we are trusting in and depending on Him. Remember, Judah won a great battle that day against a superior foe because they stood still, depended on God and went out to do what He told them to do. The battle is the Lord’s and the victory is ours. Praise God! Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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