You will not need to fight

And he said,"Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the LORD to you: Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's. …You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem! Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you." – 2 Chronicles 20v15-17

The importance of this passage goes back a long way for me. I think I first became aware of it in the summer of 1977. Could that really be 33 years ago??

Anyway, I was in Chattanooga and Mary had gone back to Missouri for the summer. We were already dating and looking ahead to our marriage. We wrote back and forth almost daily and tried to share spiritual blessings.

I was going through one of those tough spells that we go through and just needed a boost. Mary didn’t know that, but she shared this passage in one of her letters (I sort of miss old fashioned letters, don’t you?).

The nation of Judah is looking at a seemingly insurmountable battle. There was no way they could win. After a time of national prayer and fasting the Lord spoke through Jahaziel to the nation. ‘Don’t be afraid. Don’t be dismayed. The battle is not yours. It is God’s.’ In fact, in this particular case, God said that they did not even need to fight the battle. God would fight it for them.

That passage hit home for me all those years ago. It still comes to mind today when I face those battles that still sometimes seem insurmountable.

So many, many times through the years I have been grateful for a God who fights for me. Now if I could only learn to remember that when the next battle looms.