Have you ever been sitting in the stillness of the early hours reading God's Word and find that all of a sudden the words begin to leap off the page? That God begins to speak and to instruct you in such a way as to be a voice shouting in the quiet?
This, this was my experience today. As I sit here ready to share this with you, I am still tingling with awe that the God of the universe would reach out to me, give me instruction in the way to go, guide me in how to walk in this thing we call life, and speak intimately with me in a relationship I can only describe as "all."
You might be wondering what "all" could mean but in it's simplest form that is what it is. It is everything I could ever want or desire from a relationship: love, joy, peace, unity, trust..... And the list just goes on. It is ALL.
I digress.... As I sat here reading 2 Chronicles this morning God used Chapter 20 regarding the reform of Jehoshaphat to speak to me about some things in my life. In this chapter, a great multitude was coming against Jehoshaphat and he knew that he had no power to defeat this enemy.
Listen to the words of Jehoshaphat speak as he calls out to God: "O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You."
The FIRST and most important thing they did was to acknowledge God, His power, and the fact that they simply needed to place their eyes upon God. This surely does not mean you do not acknowledge the situation but rather you make the choice to keep your focus on God who is above all as your source. You do not let the things of the world that are pressing in around you take your focus off of the Great I Am...... God Almighty.
Now we see God's reply: "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 agains them, for the Lord is with you."
The SECOND thing we must do is to be willing to hear and listen when God speaks. Following closely on the heels of this is the THIRD which is to be quick to be obedient to what He calls you to do. For some this is not so hard.... for me; well for me this is quite possibly the most difficult. For you see, in each of us is a basic tenant of fight or flight. It is deeply engrained in our dna. For me, the need to fight for those I love, for all that I believe in, for those who are unable to do so is as strong as breathing. So when God speaks as He has this morning; telling me the battle is not mine, it is just plain ol' hard to lay it down. "I" want to do something. I want to stop their pain. I want to make everything better. I, I, I. I find myself heartily sick of the "I" and finally ready to lay it all down for God.
Finally, let's see the results of Jehoshaphat's plea and God's response. God went before him and all the enemy was destroyed before Jehoshaphat ever arrived. The battle cry that was sung by Jehoshaphat and the Levites was this: "Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper."
I am learning to sit in "believe in the Lord your God" and allow that to be enough as God goes before me to complete His will in the lives of those around me. A tougher task than you might think but look here at what that can bring about......
"Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around!"
Wooooo.... oh man oh man oh man. Can you imagine? Everything was quiet and he was given rest!!! The equation is so simple as to appear unlikely to work but work it does!!!
Acknowledge God
Hear & Listen
Be Obedient = all is quiet and rest is given all around!!!!
Come on people.... you should be shouting along with me right about now!!! The battle is NOT yours.... God has peace and rest for you if we will but leave it in His hands.
One final note, I couldn't help but notice that Jehoshaphat didn't keep complaining about the issue to God, he didn't give the situation un-due notice, instead he committed to go into the situation "bowed before the Lord, worshipping the Lord!"
I am seriously pumped this morning and ready to wake the house with shouts of joy! I may not know the how, the when, nor the anything else but this one thing I rest in. MY GOD IS ABLE.....
Praising Him for each of you that walk through this life with me...
hugs my friends
