Grace Notes // The Promises of God Week 3

He Will Fight For You

Written By Keli Miller

“When the worst happens—whether war or flood or disease or famine—and we take our place before this Temple (we know you are personally present in this place!) and pray out our pain and trouble, we know that you will listen and give victory.”

2 Chronicles 20:8-9 (Message) 

I love how a prayer spoken thousands of years ago can still be so relevant and powerful today.  What was true for Jehoshaphat is true for us, God will fight for us. Whatever your battle is today, you have a warrior that will fight for you. 

And He’s victorious. Letting God fight for you first means surrendering your battle. 

Jehoshaphat’s battle story is tucked away in the old testament. It doesn’t get as much hype as any of David’s battles or that time when Joshua prayed and the sun stood still. In Jehoshaphat’s story though, we find a testimony of God’s faithfulness to fight for His people and a leader who was willing to surrender. 

The partnership of a faithful God and a surrendered heart is the recipe to victory. God is always willing to fight for us, we just have to be still. 

Jehoshaphat leads his people in 3 different postures of surrender:

Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah fasted. 

Fasting is the body talking what the spirit yearns, what the soul longs for, and what the mind knows to be true.”— Scot McKnight

When we fast, we surrender our body. We surrender the things that normally comfort us through fasting. Jehoshaphat’s first response in this time of crisis isn't to summon his troops or to gather his weapons. His first response is to fast. Through fasting we say, “Here is how I provide for myself- I am surrendering that.”

Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah prayed.

Prayer is not a convenient device for imposing our will upon God, or for bending his will to ours, but the prescribed way of subordinating our will to his.” - John Stott, The Letters of John

When we pray, we surrender our minds. Through prayer and petition we surrender our pride and the idea that we have all the answers. We humble ourselves and ask God for help, recognizing that we can not do it on our own. Prayer is as much asking for God’s help as it is stopping and listening for God’s response. 

Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah worshiped. 

Worship is the natural expression of what is at the center of our lives. -Aaron Keyes 

In worship, we surrender our hearts. We surrender our position and exalt him to be on the throne where He belongs. In times of battle, worship can be a prophetic act - in the face of our enemies, we stop to declare God as King and Lord before we’ve seen provision and breakthrough. Right before battle, Jehoshaphat instructs his men to worship and then we read verse 22, 

 “As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.”

Jehoshaphat lifted his eyes to God and God gave him victory. Over and over again, we are promised that God will fight our battles for us. All too often our first response is to rely on our own strength and not to lean on God. But, as we see in Jehoshaphat’s story, leaning on God is where rest and victory are found. 

Processing:

Whatever your battle may be, how can you take a position of fasting, prayer, and worship? 

Which of these 3 disciplines (fasting, prayer, worship) is hardest for you in times of battle? 

When are you most tempted to lean on your own strength? 

In The Word: 

2 Chronicles 20 

2 Corinthians 1:1-11

Psalm 20