Fighting God’s battles
Recently one of our daughters went through a very testing time. She stood to lose quite a bit of money in a real estate deal if she could not get a loan in time. As the deadline drew closer, panic began to set in, not only for her, but also her parents. Disaster was looming. What would we do?
Well, we tried to remain calm. And we arranged a back-up plan with another mortgage broker. And yes, we did pray – but a little weakly, I have to admit. We definitely fitted into the ‘O you of little faith’ category in this instance.
Then I happened to attend a conference where I heard again the story of King Jehoshaphat from 2 Chronicles 20 in the Old Testament. Yes, there really was a king with that name! He seems to have been a pretty godly and sensible guy – as soon as he discovers that a ‘vast army’ is about to attack Judah, he calls everyone together, proclaims a fast and begins to seek help from the Lord. After uttering an impassioned prayer in front of his people, Jehoshaphat concludes with this simple yet profound statement to God:
We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.
Then another guy with an equally unpronounceable name, Jahaziel, gets up and tells the king and his people what God’s Spirit is saying about their situation:
Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.
Fortunately, Jehoshaphat believes him. He encourages his army to have faith and sends them out to battle praising God. And here’s where the story takes an interesting – and rather ironic – twist. In the end, the army of Judah don’t even have to fight. Instead, the enemy factions turn on one another so that when Jehoshaphat’s men arrive for the battle, all they see are dead bodies everywhere! No wonder they return joyfully to Jerusalem!
Well, I have to say this story challenged me greatly about how I was handling our daughter’s situation. I very speedily decided I had better take my eyes off the problem and focus them directly on God. And I repented of my lack of faith in trying to fight this ‘battle’ in my own strength. After all, the battle was not ours, but God’s.
And yes, she did receive the loan in time, praise God!
So whose battle are you fighting? Which battle are you fighting? Whatever it is, hand it over to God.
Jo-Anne Berthelsen's Blog 