The Battle Is Not Yours, But God's
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In II Chronicles 20 Judah faced an impossible task of defending themselves against the enemy—Edom, Moab, and Mount Seir. There was no way physically they could defeat the enemy. So what did Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah, do? He called for a prayer meeting for all of Judah. “So Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD” (verse 4). Jehoshaphat said to God, “For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You” (verse 12). What an awesome sight that must have been to see the king and all of God’s people seeking God’s help. We need the same sense of urgency in prayer today for our families, churches, country and ourselves. We desperately need God’s help.
Right in the midst of the prayer meeting, the Spirit of God moved upon a man by the name of Jahazeil, and he prophesied, “Thus says the LORD to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s…You shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.” (verses 15, 17). When God said, “You will not need to fight in battle,” He was meaning that they would not have to raise the sword and defeat the enemy in their own strength. They were to “go out against them” fighting the good fight of faith (I Tim. 6:12), knowing that the Lord was with them and that He would defeat the enemy.
The next day Jehoshaphat put the worshippers in front of the army as they went against the enemy. They sang loudly “Praise the Lord, For His mercy endures forever” (verse 21). As they worshipped God, believing that the battle was His, God began to fight for them. God confused the enemy, and they began to kill themselves. One by one, the enemy began to fall dead, and Judah never raised the sword. When they came to the hill that overlooked the valley, they stood absolutely amazed at what God had done. It took three days for Judah to take up all of the spoil from the enemy’s camp. Jehoshaphat called it the valley of Berachah (verse 26) which means the valley of “blessing.”
Believer, the enemies that we face within (the flesh) and without (the Devil, and the world) are too strong for us to fight in our own strength. It’s impossible for us to defeat them. We must have the same belief of Jehoshaphat when he said to God, “We are powerless...but our eyes are on You.” In ourselves we are weak, frail, and powerless against any enemy—small or big. Our eyes must be upon Jesus and His victory at the cross (Heb. 12:2). As Judah did, we must seek the help of God. With our faith in Christ’s victory at the Cross, we can go out against the enemy singing the praises of God. As we’re believing, praying, and praising, God will take care of our enemies both within and without. The battle has already been won because the battle is the Lord’s. We need to constantly remind ourselves that Jesus has won the victory over all of our enemies through His death at Calvary. Then we will see that the same valley meant for our defeat and destruction has become the valley of blessing! Believer, be encouraged today knowing that no matter the challenges you face, you don’t have to be afraid, because the battle is not yours, but God’s.
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