The Battle Is Not Yours

The Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the men standing there. His name was Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite who was a descendant of Asaph. He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow, march out against them. You will find them coming up through the ascent of Ziz at the end of the valley that opens into the wilderness of Jeruel. But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the Lord’s victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the Lord is with you!…” Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, “Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.” After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang: “Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!” At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other. So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped. II Chronicles 20:14-16, 20-24 (New Living Translation, NLT) emphasis mine

This passage tells of the battle that God won for King Jehoshaphat and the people of Israel. The Israelites did not have to fight. God fought for them. However, they did have to do some things in order to see the victory come to pass. As we find ourselves facing battles, we can see the same victory if we do what they did.

The battle is not yours, but God’s.

First, they had to know that God would fight for them. Believing that God has you covered is the biggest thing you have to do in any fight of faith. Faith comes by hearing God’s Word (Romans 10:17), so as we get in His Word, we’ll see and believe that He is our Champion and will do our fighting for us.

March out against them.

They had to take steps of faith. They actually marched out towards the enemy. God is fighting our battles, so we need not run and hide. We can be confident that we can face the enemy and win without striking a single blow on our own. Simply moving ahead with God is enough to show our faith.

Take your positions.

The Israelites were told to position themselves for battle, while still believing they would not have to fight. We have to stand in position against the enemy. Our position is on God’s Word. Find a Scripture, or several, to stand upon in the fight. Position yourself firmly on God’s promises for your situation.

Stand still and watch the Lord’s victory.

The Israelites did not abandon their places. They simply stood in place and watched their enemies’ defeat. Do not retreat. While God is fighting, we need to be standing in place, immovable and unshakeable. As we continue to stand on God’s Word, we will win. We can’t back down or abandon our confession of faith. Continue to speak God’s Word. As we persist with our proclamations of faith and do not waiver, we will see the Lord’s victory manifest in our lives.

Do not be afraid or discouraged.

The Israelites were told not to fear or give in to discouragement. We must not allow fear to creep in. We have to remember that God is our Protector, and that He always comes through. Fear opposes faith, so when fearful or discouraging thoughts come, cast them down and think on and speak faith-filled words instead. Refuse to fear.

The king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor.

Praise God in the midst of the battle. Praise Him before you see any sign of victory. Praise sends the enemy fleeing, and it enforces our faith. It is easier to stand in faith when you are singing about how wonderful your God is. The Israelites saw that when they praised, the enemy turned on themselves and self-destructed. Our praise causes confusion for the devil’s camp, and they make fatal errors in their fight against us. They turn on one another, costing them the victory.

And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much. II Chronicles 20:25 (New Living Translation, NLT)

We have the victory, and as the winners, we get the spoils. That means we strip the enemy of anything he had. Anything the devil has stolen from us or others, we can take it. Whether it is health, finances, peace, your family, your reputation, or whatever it may be, you get it back and even more. And anything the devil has tried to hold back from us, such as promotions or other forms of increase, we can take that too. The enemy actually has to pay back sevenfold anything he has illegally taken (Proverbs 6:30-31). The victory brings great rewards, so march out, take your position, stand still, and see God win the battle on your behalf!