Fight For You

King Jehoshaphat stood before Israel.  He had assembled them to pray to God about an invading army made up of Ammonites, Moabites and other inhabitants of Mount Seir.  The king stood in front of the temple and gave a heartfelt prayer, he reminded God that he had established them and they had built a temple for His name.  As the people were standing there with their infants, wives and children God answered the king.  The Spirit of the Lord descended on Jahaziel who said, "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.'" 

Life is full of battles, physical health, relationships, all of the evil in the world. We are engaged in battles seen and unseen and many times we fight these battles alone.  For reasons unknown we choose to fight battles on our own terms and we lose a majority of the time.  Unfortunately it is when we have lost, we finally turn to God and ask for help.  In reality what we should do is follow King Jehoshaphat’s example and pray for God's help before the battle.  Now I am confident both in personal experience and by observation that God answers prayers.  He is waiting for the opportunity to help you to glorify His name. God wants to fight the battle for you.  In Christ we are children of God and what parent wouldn’t fight for their children.  

In the morning the people of Israel went out to the place the Lord commanded them.  On their way they started singing praise to the Lord.  The moment they started singing the Lord began to fight for them.  There wasn’t an enemy who remained and terror of the Lord gripped all the kingdoms around Israel.  God gave Jehoshaphat's kingdom quiet, because the Lord had given him peace on all sides.  “Do not be afraid or discouraged. Tomorrow go out to face them, for Yahweh is with you!”

Lord you alone are our salvation, you alone are our hope.  We trust in you and turn over our battles to you.  Lord we praise your name, Lord we believe in you, Your love endures forever!  Amen