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#Battles#
#Winning#
2 Chronicles 20:2-4
Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, ‘A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the sea. It’s already in Hazazon Tamar’ (that is, En Gendi). Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to enquire 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. (NIV).
The story of Jehoshaphat is a common and known story of the Bible about the attack that the Moabites, the Ammonites with some of the Meunites made on Judah. King Jehoshaphat was the ruler at that time. The aim of the Moabites, Ammonites and the rest was to drive the men and women of Judah together with their children out of the possession that God gave them as an inheritance. When you read the whole story, you will realize that Jehoshaphat had not prepared when he was attacked. He wasn’t aware of the attack. Secondly, he confessed to God through his prayer (2 Chronicles 20:12) that the whole Judah had no power over the vast army that attacked them. In addition to this, he also didn’t know what to do. He told the lord…‘Our eyes are upon you Lord‘ (verse 12). He was open enough in his prayer for God to understand his situation. He didn’t mince his words.
The situation that king Jehoshaphat found himself into was a helpless one physically. He had a nation that had a culture that required them to fully depend on God, not on material possessions. This meant that whenever a need arose, then God should give direction. In essence, this was the rightly placed nation. The risky bit for such culture was when corporate faith was lacking. Fortunately, in the story, everyone was compliant. Giants of faith responded immediately when a fast was proclaimed by king Jehoshaphat. The wave drew everybody in suit including breastfeeding mothers. In this case, God responded from heaven about the urgent case at hand. This was historical in regard to the chronicles of that time.
In summary, the steps that Jehoshaphat took gave God an opportunity to fight for them (2 Chronicles 20:17). God answered them through Jahaziel, son of Zechariah….descendant of Asaph. They were given direction through the prophecy that came from God. Their confidence was then restored. They knew what to do.
The moral of this story is that, the war we face daily in our lives can only be won depending on the choices of our strategies. How do you choose to fight war? This is the question. In the case of Jehoshaphat, he chose to immediately enquire of the Lord when he got news about the attack. He didn’t delay. He didn’t sit there crying the whole day. He didn’t look for somebody to blame. He didn’t run away. In other words, he didn’t become a coward.
Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast after enquiring from the Lord, and being sure that he was within the will of God. Many at times, a good number of people faced with trouble would choose to enquire from fortune tellers, sorcerers, magicians, idol worshippers,witchcraft ‘experts’, seers,night runners….etc. Most of the gods listed above would tell you to bring expensive sacrifices on their altars. At times they would want the sacrifice of a human being. That for you to win the battle, you should kill someone and probably present the body of the diseased to them for sacrifice.
The blind eye is the one that can’t see God. The deaf ear is the one that can’t hear God, even if he shouted from heaven. Jehoshaphat was not blind. He was not deaf spiritually. He knew that God can handle the battle better than human beings. This knowledge about God in this scripture is the greatest of all the revelation ever. It makes me and you to learn that no battle is difficult when God is in it. In fact, the men and women of Judah ended up not fighting (2 Chronicles 20:21-22). They just sang praise songs. This can sound strange in the ears of a normal person. But God has a million ways of winning war. So, praise and worship was just one of the million ways. People who worship and praise God are winners even before battles face them. They bring down God’s presence through singing. King David knew how to do this very well.
Battles are never won by our own abilities. Battles are God’s affair. When you invite God in the battles of your life, he fights for you. King Jehoshaphat was a prayerful personality. He prayed to the Lord then the Lord answered through prophecy. We need to pray daily so that when battles come, they find God within our reach already. When you don’t pray, you don’t win battles. Jehoshaphat won the battle because of prayer. After prayer, there was praise and worship band. God wants you to involve him in your battles through prayer, praise and worship.
Jesus Christ prayed daily (Mark 1:35). He warned his disciples often that pray so that you don’t fall into temptation. I want to mention that most of us Christians are weak because we don’t pray often. When battles face us, they knock us off feet like nothing. Strong Christians are prayerful. Christ was full of prayer. He overcame temptation because of the habit of prayer. Jehoshaphat won the battle because of prayer. So for you to win the battle, then you must be prayerful.
Battles in our lives are diverse, including marriage problems, diseases, unemployment…. (for example through sacking), loss of a loved one, emotional problems, idolatry, false religion and religious doctrines, civil war and many more. All these battles require the presence of the Lord for one to win. You can never win them on your own.
May the Lord help us. Let’s pray that his spirit shall teach us to understand that battles are fought by the Lord himself. Our duty is to pray, praise and worship him the way Jehoshaphat did.
Enjoy your Sunday. Feel free to add a comment.
God bless you.
Chinua…
