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I must confess that I am indeed a control freak. My nature and personality tend to give me that control mentality. I tend to be impatient and hate having to wait. I want to manipulate and call the shots and direct the action, instead of letting God be God. So today I’m preaching to myself and you’re welcome to listen in. I’ve titled this devotional: “Don’t fight; just show up!”
Do you recall the story found in 2 Chronicles 20, where Jehoshaphat was facing war with a bunch of enemies who could undoubtedly wipe him off the map? He was a godly king of Judah, and when he realized this vast army was marching his way, he was alarmed, frightened, worried! Who wouldn’t be? But as soon as he saw his predicament, he resolved to inquire of the Lord and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah (2 Chronicles 20:3).
Notice how he responded to a crisis: He resolved to inquire of the Lord. What is the first thing you do when facing an overwhelming enemy of some sort? It could be a relationship enemy or a financial enemy or a jobless enemy or a health enemy—they come in all types and sizes. Our first emotional reaction is alarm; that’s to be expected. But what does that alarm cause you to do?
Often the first thing I do is to plan my fight. Whatever the problem is, I start figuring how I can win this battle. I can do this or that; I can talk to this person or that one; I can pull this string or another one. Surely there is something I can do to fix this situation—and fix it fast! So, I start drawing up my battle plan.
Jehoshaphat knew better. He remembered to first “inquire of the Lord.” What is your mission impossible today, your impossible person, your mountain too high to climb? Have you inquired of the Lord yet for his guidance? Or are you struggling and working and fretting to come up with your own battle plan so you can solve that problem?
Sometimes you need to just stop right where you are and inquire of the Lord. That means tell him that you trust him, you believe he is smarter than you are, and you admit your ideas usually make matters worse rather than solve anything. So, instead of fighting your battle today, you’re going to inquire of the Lord as to what to do. That’s the first important step.
Now please note the end of Jehoshaphat’s prayer as he inquired of the Lord: For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you. (2 Chronicles 20:12).
Have you ever prayed that prayer? Many times, God doesn’t move on our behalf until we come to this place where we quit maneuvering and manipulating and planning and working and admit we don’t have the foggiest notion what to do and nothing we’ve tried so far has worked. That may be exactly what you need to do today, right now. Stop fighting and admit your own defeat.
Often, we run the gamut of our ideas before we turn it over to the Lord. For example, with a relationship problem, you may typically try all kinds of battle plans to fight that enemy. Many times, you’ve probably tried so hard to please another person to solve the problem, and you jump through all their hoops, only to discover the situation is no better.
Or you may decide to confront, get very assertive, and tell them a thing or two, and that backfires on you. Of course, there’s always nagging to fall back on if you’re trying to resolve a problem with another person. Sometimes you may even get vindictive and try to get your pound of flesh. You see, your battle plans—and mine—are pretty pitiful, and they’ll never defeat the enemy.
Are you ready to admit defeat today with that person who is the bane of your existence right now? Are you ready to acknowledge you have no answers, no power, no plan, and you simply do not know what to do? If so, you are poised for God to intervene and do something on your behalf.
Now, does that mean you just sit down and quit? No, as we see in this story of Jehoshaphat, he had to show up at the battlefield, but he didn’t have to fight! You can’t take yourself out of the game as long as the Lord has you there. You don’t walk off from that mate and say, “Forget it.” You don’t abandon that friend just because things are tough. You don’t ignore that coworker who irritates you. But you do seek God’s plan—and put your eyes on him for the answers.
Jehoshaphat faced an enemy army so large they could blow his little troops to smithereens. But in his alarm, he inquired of the Lord, and God sent him a plan through the prophet Jahaziel. Listen to what this prophet told Jehoshaphat:
“Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow march down against them… You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you… Go out and face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.” (2 Chronicles 20:15b-17),
Do you think a military strategist would approve of this plan? They were told to march down against the enemy but not to fight. What strange orders those are. Isn’t that just asking to be slaughtered? Surely it would have been much smarter if God had said, “Here are some guns and tanks and bombs and jeeps. Now you can march down there and start firing your weapons.” Don’t you think that makes more sense?
It seems to me if God’s not going to supply them with the weapons needed, the only other thing that makes sense is to run in the other direction as fast as they can and hope they outrun the enemy. But God’s orders are to show up at the battlefield but not to fight!
My friends, that is often what God asks of us. He doesn’t want us running away from the battle like chickens, giving up and throwing in the towel. But he doesn’t need us to come up with our battle plans and try to fight for him. He wins our battles in unique ways, ways we would never dream of. And when we start trying to fight our way, we get in his way and keep him from winning it with his creative strategy.
What’s your battle today? Are you trying to fight it yourself—or maybe you’re running away from it. Either strategy is a big mistake. Don’t fight; just show up!
Maybe your battle is a financial one, and you’ve been trying to devise your own financial bailout plan. Or could it be a health problem? Are you frantically trying every remedy you can think of? Or perhaps you’re ignoring it and hoping it will go away. There are all kinds of battles of every description among us, and we’ve got to learn this basic principle: Don’t fight; just show up!
For the people of Judah, they had to march to the battlefield and face the enemy, but you know how they did that? Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: ‘Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.‘(2 Chronicles 20:21)
Please, don’t miss this point. As they marched to this battle where their enemies were just waiting to annihilate them, they sent singing men out front praising and thanking God. Whoa—that’s pretty gutsy, isn’t it? It also seems rather ridiculous. But as they began to sing and praise, the Lord started fighting their battle ahead of them and when they arrived, the enemy was dead already.
What do you do when you’re facing impossibilities? Gripe and complain sometimes, huh? Prophesy defeat, too. And throw your pity parties.
“Oh, me, why does this have to happen to me?”
“Well, there’s nothing I can do but pray; I’ve tried everything else.”
“There’s nothing we can do about it now. It just can’t be helped; that’s the way it is.”
Marching to your battles—or running away from them—in defeat not in victory.
Friends, whatever battle you’re facing today, will you stop the bad-mouthing about it and start praising and thanking God, for his love endures forever? Then and only then will you release the victory God has planned for you. Why? Because then you show God you trust him, and you’re placing your faith in him. Without faith, it’s impossible to please him. He’s waiting for you to stop fighting, stop fretting, stop complaining, and stop feeling sorry for yourself and start praising him as you march to the battlefield. The battle is the Lord’s, but you’ve got to show up!
And not only did they have to show up. They had to stand firm. They had to demonstrate their faith in God to fight this battle for them without any double mindedness. Show up and stand firm.
I find lots of people who want God to fight the battle and win it for them, but they don’t want to show up. What position has God given to you? What part are you supposed to play in his game plan? He wants you to show up and take your position.
Maybe you show up once in a while, but you don’t stand firm. We have to obey God completely in order for him to win our battles for us. Maybe you’ve been praying for a miracle from God, but you’ve been wishy-washy; your testimony is on and off; your time with God is hit and miss. Not only do you have to show up, but you have to stand firm once you’re there.
Well, I hope you’ll remember this little slogan I’ve used today: “Don’t fight; just show up!” Let it remind you that you can’t do it yourself, and you shouldn’t even try. Abandon your own self-efforts, give it over to the Lord, give him permission to do it his way, and admit you don’t know what to do.
But then, please, please, please, don’t quit, don’t feel sorry for yourself, don’t get discouraged. March to your battle singing and praising God, for his love endures forever, as they did in 2 Chronicles 20, and then by all means, SHOW UP! And when you show up, stand firm.
What freedom to know God fights our battles. Even for us control freaks, once we learn to let go and let God take over, we discover his control is far superior to ours. You can trust him completely.