The Battle is Not Yours

 "Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah...came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation; and he said, 

'Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, thus saith the Lord unto you, 

Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; 
for the battle is not yours, but God's.' " 

(2 Chronicles 20: 14, 15)

In this passage, we see the children of Israel and their King Jehoshaphat facing a "great multitude" coming against them.  This multitude included the children of Moab and the children of Ammon and "others beside."

The impending battle struck fear into the hearts of the Israelites. "We have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do," stated Jehoshaphat in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem.  But he did not finish his sentence there; he went on to say, "...but our eyes are upon Thee."

We all have moments in our lives when we feel like there's no way to win the battle we are currently facing.  Those feelings are perhaps true, but there is a greater truth, the truth spoken by Jahaziel to all the congregation of Israel, "the battle is not yours, but God's."

These two men show us the path when we are faced with battle, turmoil, troubles, or temptations.  "Our eyes are upon Thee" and "The battle is not yours (or ours), but God's." These are bedrock truths to cast all our cares, fears, worries, and woes upon. The Lord Jesus has already conquered every enemy that can try to melt our hearts with fear.   So often, as He walked this earth, He encouraged His believers to "Fear not."  He is still saying that to us today.  

In his discourse to the Israelites, Jahaziel also said, "Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still and see the salvation of the Lord with you," (2 Chronicles 20:17.

What enemy are we facing today, in this very minute?  What fear is he using to try to wrestle away our peace and joy in the Lord Jesus?  Is any enemy we face greater than our Savior? If we have trusted in the Lord Jesus, we can follow Jahaziel's admonition and stand still to see the salvation of the Lord in our lives, wherever we see the enemy.  

And we can be sure of one thing, our battles are not ours, but His, and the Lord Jesus always triumphs.