The Battle is God's

This is a subject we have talked about before, but since the Holy Spirit saw fit to teach this lesson, using similar words, many times in Scripture, I don’t suppose it will hurt us to revisit the subject again here. In 2 Chronicles 20, King Jehoshaphat and the kingdom of Judah are faced with a serious threat. The Moabites, the Ammonites and some of the Meunites (these might have been Edomites) formed an alliance and came up to make war against Jehoshaphat. When word was brought to the Hebrew king, he was afraid. I love his response to fear, though. Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the Lord (2 Chronicles 20:3).

Sometimes I’m afraid. Sometimes I’m terribly afraid, and I know that you are, too. It is the nature of humanity, I suppose. There are things we face in life that scare us to death. We “encounter various trials” (James 1:2) and it is hard to endure. Well, the reaction of Jehoshaphat is the same reaction that you and I should have. When we encounter those trials we need to turn our attention to seek the Lord.

2 Chronicles 20:5-12 tells us the prayer that Jehoshaphat said to God. I want you to see God’s answer and take these words to heart in your battles this week. Then in the midst of the assembly the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph; and he said, “Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s. Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel. You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you.”

The battle is not yours; it is God’s. We have heard those words before and they are true!! Oh yes, I've got a battle to fight. It is not that I can just lounge around and do nothing and God will take care of all my worries while I take a nap. No, I have to fight, but the fight I am fighting is His as much as it is mine! When I fight to put myself at His side, then I can “stand and see the salvation of the Lord” on my behalf.

Let us not leave this story without seeing how it ended. It was not enough for Jehoshaphat to seek the Lord, to pray, or even to hear the prophet give the answer to his prayer. He still had to obey what God told him to do. Look at verses 20-23: They rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust in the Lord your God and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed.” When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, “Give thanks to the Lord, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” When they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were routed. For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir destroying them completely; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

God came through, didn’t He? And He will come through for you. All you have to do is start by seeking God when you are afraid. Pray to God and ask Him to help you. Then, you have to listen to His answer, which you will find in the pages of Scripture. And finally, you must obey what is written in those pages. If you will do all of that, the battle is God’s and He will fight it and win it for you. You cannot lose! And that is all because He loves you and I love you, too.