UV 2804/10000 Pattern of Faith in Our Great Struggles
O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.
2 Chronicles 20 v 12
The odds are often very heavy against God’s people. We face formidable enemies and tremendous opposition in this world. Yet, we do not rely on human strength or means to retaliate. Like Jehoshaphat who cried out to God when his kingdom faced invasion from many powerful armies, we need to appeal to the Lord. Jehoshaphat like any normal leader or king at first feared but through a process of humbling himself, preparing his heart and his people’s, he reinforced his faith in the God of his forefather Abraham. We may be at our wits end and may not know what to do. But we should be assured and confident that in all our dire situations and crises of life, the eyes of the Lord are upon us and our people. The Lord will not forsake us or leave us in our times of greatest need. He is the righteous judge. He clearly sees the justice of our cause.
The Lord fights our battles for us. Even as Jehoshaphat led the people of Judah in praise and worship, He had mercy on them. Even as they began to sing and worship, the Lord set up ambushes against the Ammonites, the Moabites and the inhabitants of Mount Seir who were intent on attacking, defeating and destroying the kingdom of Judah. The secret of Judah’s victory was the faith of the king and his people in Jehovah Nissi, the God of victory. Their only strategy was praise, worship and intercessory prayer. They were encouraged with a prophetic word. They did not cower in fear or shrink away from the sight of the enemies. They remembered past awesome victories the Lord had brought them in many struggles and battles. They did not rely on their own military prowess or resources.
In every struggle in life, we need to turn and seek the Lord, His presence and His help. We need to understand that the battle is clearly not ours but the Lord’s particularly if the odds are heavily against us. We should not run away from the battlefield or hide from our struggle but submit our fears and apprehensions to the Lord. Recalling the past victories and deliverances by the Lord and giving Him thanks and praise for the same will boost our faith and cause our fears to evaporate. Our enemies and adverse circumstances will melt in the presence of the Lord like wax before an intense fire. This is the beauty of His holiness. We only need to stand still and see. Through scriptural history, we see no instance of the Lord wielding a weapon or riding a chariot or leading a large army but His mere presence, His word is sufficient to give us grace to overcome, to win, to defeat the forces arraigned against us. As the God of heaven and earth, He has all the armies of heaven and the resources of earth at His command. He can obtain victory with many or few or with none. Our understanding and recognition of who God is, is vital to winning in the many battles of life.
Prateep V Philip
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