The battle is not yours

You know the saying, "God helps those who help themselves"? It's true that we can't just sit back and expect God to take care of everything for us. But here's the other side of the coin: God helps those who trust in Him. For instance, take the story laid out in 2 Chronicles 20: A "vast army" is coming against Israel, and king Jehoshaphat knows his army could never hold its own against these invaders. So he and the people of Judah come together to fast, pray, and seek the Lord. They remind Him of His promises (a great way to pray) and end by saying, "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you" (v. 12).

The Holy Spirit moves an Israelite to prophesy: "Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you" (v. 15-17).

Don't fear. Trust. Go. Take up your position, standing firm in the armor God has provided you (Ephesians 6:10-18). Submit to God, then resist your enemy (James 4:7).

The rest of the story is truly amazing: "As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another. 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. So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder" (v. 22-25). Praise your God. Acknowledge His might, not your enemy's strength. Thank Him. Praise will take you into your victory.

To see another similar story where God defeated Israel's enemy before they even came into contact, read about Gideon in Judges 7. As in these two stories, sometimes all God calls us to do is trust Him, rest in Him.

Other times, however, He calls us to fight. Not in our strength, but His. See, for example, Exodus 17:8-13 and Numbers 21:1-3. In Joshua 6, it was persevering obedience that God used to bring down the walls of Jericho, but the army still had to step over the rubble and fight.

Here is an anecdote that I find to be funny: The Israelites have finally been freed from Egypt, but the pharaoh has a change in heart and pursues them with his army: all his "horses and chariots, horsemen and troops" (Exodus 14:9). The Israelites complain to Moses that it would have been better to remain slaves for life than die in the desert. Moses replies, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still" (v. 13-14).

While this statement shows great faith and reflects what God had been teaching Moses, it isn't the advice God wants Moses to give. "Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground' " (v. 15-16). If the Israelites had listened to their leader's pious command to be still, they never would have reached the Promised Land.

We will never reach our promised land unless we both trust in the Lord and are open to what He is doing. If He says fight, fight. If He says rest, rest. If He says go, go. If He says stay, stay. If He says speak, speak. If He says be silent, be silent. About the only thing predictable concerning God is that He loves you, He will never leave you, and no matter what He tells you to do, it is for your good.

"Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?" (Isaiah 2:22).

"The LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory" (Deuteronomy 20:4).