Trust Him

Even though there is a lot about killing in the Old Testament, there is also much about God’s grace poured out on those who choose to listen to Him. One such a case was with Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. He trusted the Lord, and saw the results of not trusting when he went out with Ahab, king of Israel to fight the king of Aram. The Prophet Micaiah told him (Ahab) that he would not prevail, and instead of listening to him, the king listened to the false prophets, and was killed the next day in battle. Jehoshaphat, remained true to the Lord God, and then after a strong rebuke from Hanani, another prophet and seer, Jehoshaphat got back on the track of fully trusting God. But as would happen, the Moabites and Ammonites, formed a pact to attack and fight against Jehoshaphat, and when the king heard this, he immediately gathered all the people of Judah and proclaimed a fast. He prayed for God to protect them and to tell them what to do. Jehoshaphat would be ready to fight if the Lord told him to, but instead this is what came from the Lord, through the Spirit to Jahaziel, who spoke to all the assembled: “Listen carefully, all Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat. This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast number, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.  Tomorrow, go down against them. You will see them coming up the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley facing the Wilderness of Jeruel. You do not have to fight this battle. Position yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord. He is with you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Tomorrow, go out to face them, for Yahweh is with you.” 2 Chronicles 20:15-17  Throughout history, we see wars fought by men, some for the sake of the faith, some for the sake of ego. But I wonder how many were like this battle that God showed Judah and Jerusalem that He was the One who would do the fighting. I wonder how it could be if we trusted God enough to fight our battles today. They may be wars, or just the battles of the flesh that happen on a daily basis. Both of which we don’t do well when we fight them ourselves. But what if we trusted God so much so that we did exactly as He told us. Not false prophets, not men, but the Spirit of the Lord, who speaks for the Lord Himself. He could have given them the victory and let them fight, perhaps losing some of their numbers but being victorious, but instead He told them to “Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord. Today, the Lord is still speaking. He has not changed. The battle still belongs to Him, and He is in control. Wouldn’t it be nice if we just had the faith to trust Him in all ways, and to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. For Yahweh is still with us. Pastor Andy