01/05/2016
I want to share with you today one of the most powerful chapters in the Bible. If you’re up against a difficulty which seems overwhelming, there are truths in this chapter you’ll want down to your bones. When I was facing difficulties in my life and I was in deep despair and losing hope this chapter came up in my daily reading.
When you’re up to your neck in the hard, remember that the battle is not yours. The battle is the Lord’s. And 2 Chronicles 20 shows that in full splendor.
We’re going to jump right in with verse 1. Godly king Jehoshaphat was on the throne of Judah and had been working hard to institute just legal reforms. Suddenly, he found his tiny Judah facing unprovoked war from an alliance of three hostile neighbors that surrounded Judah.
“After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to make war on Jehoshaphat. Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, ‘A vast army is coming against you from Edom. . . it is already in Hazazon Tamar (that is En Gedi).’ ”
How did Jehoshaphat react? You would think he might rally his troops, plan a counterattack, reinforce the border. Or even panic. But note his six responses to the daunting threat:
1) He sought God’s guidance first.
“Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.”
Before any plan was made, before he ran to any counselor, Jehoshaphat sought the Lord.
2) He acknowledged that God was in control.
“O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.”
The enemies weren’t driving the circumstance. They had no authority over God’s people. No matter how dire our circumstances, God is sovereign.
3) He remembered God’s faithfulness and promises.
“O our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword or judgment or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’”
Each new trial can cause a new crisis of belief for us. Remembering how God has already worked on our behalf bolsters our faith during trials. I cannot count the times I have whispered to my soul that God did not take us this far to drop us now.
4) He acknowledged utter dependence on the Lord.
“’For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.’”
Such a vulnerable place. Was God unaware of their need? Was He busy with other matters and needed a tug to get his attention? When circumstances overwhelm us we can think that. But God knew their plight. And God — who only acts in perfect love — allowed His people to get to a place of utter dependence on Him.
A place of absolute dependence on God is a good place to be. It is where we learn to trust God the most, seek God the most and see God the most. And boy were they about to see God.
“This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.’”
