“…Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Fear not, and be not dismayed
at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s’…Fear not, and
be not dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”
2 Chronicles 20:15, 17
When I think back
on my life and the times that were most difficult, I realize now that I made
those times harder because I tried to battle them all on my own. I feared; I worried; I cried; I fought HARD
against things happening that I didn’t want to happen and that I didn’t think I
could possibly deal with. What I’ve
learned from my relationship with God over the past couple of years is to stop
battling my problems and give them over to God to fight.
The great
multitude spoken about in the verse above is the large number of Moabites and
Ammonites who want to fight God’s people in Judah, but when I read the verse
and put it in the context of our lives today, I think of the “multitude” as the
large number of daily concerns and troubles that overtake us at times. It may
be a death in the family, a really bad day at work, increasing debts, and/or personal
relationship problems. It may not be warriors coming to kill us physically and
take over our land and possessions, but it is our “multitude,” and we don’t
have to allow it to stomp us into the ground. We can give whatever ails us or
whatever difficult challenge is before us to God to battle. He longs to guide
us through this life he’s put together for us. He loves it when we lean fully
into Him and reveal our faith in His protection and promises.
I can’t imagine
living in Bible times when battles were won by God’s miraculous power and when
whole seas were parted to save the Israelites from going back into slavery with
Egypt. Reading through the Bible this year, I am struck by the many, many
awe-inspiring stories of God’s power and when I put them all together in my
small mind, it’s hard to understand how God’s people could have ever lost faith
when God showed them real, physical evidence over and over again that the
battle was His and He was with them. Well, the battle is still His, and He is
still with us. Whatever it is you are
facing today, remember this: fear not, and be not dismayed for the battle is
God’s, and the Lord will be with you.
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