The Battle is the Lord’s

How big is your God? What determines the size of your faith? When we face impossible situations what do we do? Do we focus on the problem and ourselves? Do we fall back on our own devices, plans, resources, and strength? Or, do we focus on God?

When faced with insurmountable problems, we, as God’s people must set our eyes on God, and not the problem, because the battle is the Lord’s. We pray, fast, worship and praise God. We do not fear. We are not discouraged. We believe. We step out in faith. We take our position, stand firm, and watch God do his kingdom work. The battle is the Lord’s! 

1. Fast, Pray, and Praise

King Jehoshaphat and Judah faced an impossible situation when they heard about the great multitude that was coming against them for battle. They were powerless against this massive army. Do they flee, surrender, negotiate for peace? The king did not resort to human, political, military, or economic methods or strategies. He did not look for allies to help. He did not begin to produce arms. He did not call up every abled bodied man to fight. No, he called the whole nation to come together to fast, pray, and praise God. They sought the Lord. They set their eyes upon God. They focused on God. READ vv 3-12

Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, and said,

Lord, the God of our ancestors, 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. 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 of 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.’

But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. Our God, will you not judge them? 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 on you.

Look at how they prayed and where the prayer begins. God and his glory are their focus and priority. Just like in the Lord’s Prayer. They praised and proclaimed who God is. They praised and proclaimed what God has done. They were concerned about God’s glory and the honor of his Name. So, when we face difficult times, we should look up and think about who God is, and praise Him for who He is. We should look back, and remember what God has done for us, and praise Him with thanksgiving. Then we look forward to watch and see what God will do.

How big is your God? When we face impossible situations, where are our eyes? On ourselves and the problem? Do we rely on our own devices, skills, and strength? We pray because that’s the thing to do, but then we go ahead and make our own plans, and ask God to bless our plans. 

We must put our eyes on God. God is greater, bigger, more powerful than any problem or situation we may face. Focus on God the Father. Focus on Jesus the Lord. Focus on the Holy Spirit. Focus on the all-powerful, Holy Trinity, the great I AM. Focus on seeking first God’s kingdom and his righteousness. Put God’s glory and His will first. Don’t do anything until you ask the Lord first. Don’t move in the dark. If you don’t know or are not sure about God’s will, don’t move. Pray, fast, praise, and rejoice in the Lord. P.U.S.H. — Pray, Praise Until Something Happens. Seek the Lord first. It is the Lord’s battle.

Focus on God by praising and rejoicing in the Lord. God’s people did not go and sit in ash and mourned. Instead, they praised and worshipped God. When they moved out against the vast armies, the king did not put his best soldiers at the front of his army. He “appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise Him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: ‘Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever.’” (v21) And take note — at the moment they began to praise God, the Lord fought his battle and destroyed the enemy (vv22-23).

When we face whatever difficulties, we must not be overcome by a spirit of heaviness, despair, and fear. We must put on the garments of praise and worship God. Praise pushes back the enemy. Phil. 4:4-7 — “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

2. Do Not Fear. Just Watch!

God answers according to his will and for his glory. Lord’s Spirit came. READ vv 15-17. 

Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s. Tomorrow go down against them. 

Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ 

Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.

Do not fear. Do not be discouraged. The battle is not ours but God’s. We do not need to fight this battle. The Lord is with us. Therefore, tomorrow, go out against them. You will find them. You will not fight them. Take your positions, and stand firm. And see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf.

What are the impossible situations in your life? Remember the words of Jesus, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. … And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Mt. 28:18-20). Therefore, “Be still and know that I am God” (Ps 46:10). We are not God. God is God. He is in control. He holds everything in his hand. Nothing is impossible for God. Set your eyes on God. Remember — P.U.S.H. until he tells you what to do. Then ask that he will empower and equip you to do what He calls you to do. Then go, take your position, do what God called you to do, stand firm, watch, and see how He accomplishes his kingdom work, fights his battle, in spite of us, and even through us. The battle is the Lord’s. 

“But,” you say, “How can my battles, my problems, my life be the Lord’s battle. I am too small, too insignificant. My work is unimportant. I am just a 13-year old boy or a 17-year old girl still in school.” No one is too small, too unimportant, too insignificant. “We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph 2:10). All of your life and all that you do is kingdom work, and therefore the Lord’s battle. Whoever you are and whatever you do — your life and work is the battlefield where God is doing his kingdom work in and through you.

Therefore, go out, do your utmost best for the Lord with the gifts, talents, skills, and resources God gave you, but then leave it in his hands. Even while doing my best, I must yield to the Lord. I must allow the Holy Spirit to use me and work through me. I must do everything in the Name of the Lord for his glory, praying — Lord, I do this for you. Lord, help me, empower me to do this. Lord, let me do this according to your will and ways. Lord, may this glorify you, may I do it in ways that will make you known and glorify you. Lord, thank you for being with me. Lord, thank you for fighting this battle. 

3.  Believe! — Step out in Faith

And when God answers and shows us his way and his will, we must believe Him and step out in faith. READ vv 18-21,24.

Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.”

After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise Him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.”

When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped.

How great is your God? What is the size of your faith? What determines the size of your faith? Many times we let the problem or situation define, determine and limit the size of our faith. How many times have you heard someone say, or perhaps you have said it yourself. I have. “My faith is not big enough, or, I guess I don’t have enough faith.” And so we make excuses for trying to do things on our own and in our own ways, instead of giving it over to God and trusting God. 

PERSONAL ILLUSTRATION

Many times we have little faith. Like Peter, we start out in faith with our eyes set on Jesus. But quickly the storms of life, the ways of the world, doubts, worries, and fears overwhelm us. We take our eyes off the Lord, and we begin to sink.

Or, we believe half-heartedly. We give over to God the steering wheel of our lives. But then we keep one hand on the steering wheel just in case, or we sit ready to grab it back from God when things go haywire. We need to let go completely! We must move out of the way. We must give our whole life, all of it, into God’s hands. We must declare Jesus Christ as the Lord of our lives, all of it.

Jesus said, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Mt 17:20) Jesus’ emphasis is on how great our God is, not how great our faith is. Even with only a little bit of faith we can move mountains, not because of our faith but because of the God we believe. We believe in a God that is so big, so great, so powerful that nothing is impossible with Him. God is at work, fighting his kingdom battles in our lives. 

Therefore, plant the seed of faith into whatever mountain stands in your way. Believe, step out in faith, and watch how God will move that mountain.

Fix your eyes on Jesus. Keep on fighting the good fight. Keep on running the race. Keep the faith. Faith is patient. Faith is progressive because it keeps on moving forward. Faith never gets into a bad situation and says, “It’s over. I am just going to sit here and die.” Faith never throws a self-pity party when everything seems impossible and hopeless. Faith doesn’t stand still and drowns in its own misery. We walk by faith every moment, every step of the way. So whenever we get into a wilderness, found ourselves in a dark place, we keep walking. We keep going forward even if we only make an inch of progress with each step. When we get into battles and face impossible situations, we set our eyes on God. We pray, fast, praise and rejoice in the Lord. And then we step out in faith, and say, “The battle is the Lord’s. We believe. We will move forward. We will stand, and see the Lord’s salvation.”