Do you trust in the Lord to fight your battles?
6 Jun 26
Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Devotions on F.I.R.E. Year One
Readings:
2 Chronicles 20
2 Chronicles 21
2 Chronicles 22
John 16:1-15
Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s (2 Chronicles 20:15).
Do you trust in the Lord to fight your battles?
Fear is the natural response to being overwhelmed when the enemy outnumbers you. Jehoshaphat is no different, but observe what he does in response to his fear: “And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah” (2 Chronicles 20:3). He chooses to follow the Lord and let Him fight the battle. Our Lord is a mighty warrior. The church also will return with Jesus at His Second Coming. John writes, “And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses” (Revelation 19:14). Jesus returns with a two-edged sword to defeat His enemies (Revelation 19:15), and we are depicted as following Him. We experience victory like Jehoshaphat by following the Lord.
Employment Point: Follow closely behind the Lord and let Him fight your battles.
——————-
Reflections
“He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.”2 Chronicles 20:15 NIV
- I used to put this verse as a reminder to myself. “The battle is His.” Battles, especially spiritual ones, are never meant for us to fight. Maybe there are times when we think we can but we can’t. There is a higher power and higher being that is way above us who does this for us. It is therefore wise, to leave that into His hands. The One who is already victorious.
“After consulting the people, 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 NIV
- one thing this verse reminds me, is that we should never forget to give thanks and sing praises to our Lord, regardless our circumstances.
- We do not worship Him only in times of challenges or distress. We ought to worship Him even in times of joy and rejoicing.
“The fear of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.”
2 Chronicles 20:29-30 NIV
- How great is our Lord who has never forsake us in times of trouble and had always deliver us and protected us from harm. Indeed He is worthy of praise. Indeed, seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.. we will be blessed.
“Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an alliance with Ahaziah king of Israel, whose ways were wicked. He agreed with him to construct a fleet of trading ships. After these were built at Ezion Geber, Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have made an alliance with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.” The ships were wrecked and were not able to set sail to trade.”2 Chronicles 20:35-37 NIV
- Let us consider every decision and be also discerning, so that we do not end up working with people whose ways are wicked. Those plans will not succeed.
“The people of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, Jehoram’s youngest son, king in his place, since the raiders, who came with the Arabs into the camp, had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign.”
2 Chronicles 22:1 NIV
- After Jehoshaphat, no one really was doing things that pleases the Lord or following His ways. The Lord was not pleased for sure but He kept His promise to always leave a line for David.
- We can see from here how faithful our Lord God is, even in instances where we fall short.
““I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”
John 16:12-13 NIV
- We thank God for the Holy Spirit who comes and guide us in our life, prompting us of the things of truth, helping us to transform ourselves to be more Christ like.
——————
“Work Out” What God “Works in” You
BY OSWALD CHAMBERS
June 06
…work out your own salvation…for it is God who works in you… —Philippians 2:12-13
Your will agrees with God, but in your flesh there is a nature that renders you powerless to do what you know you ought to do. When the Lord initially comes in contact with our conscience, the first thing our conscience does is awaken our will, and our will always agrees with God. Yet you say, “But I don’t know if my will is in agreement with God.” Look to Jesus and you will find that your will and your conscience are in agreement with Him every time. What causes you to say “I will not obey” is something less deep and penetrating than your will. It is perversity or stubbornness, and they are never in agreement with God. The most profound thing in a person is his will, not sin.
The will is the essential element in God’s creation of human beings— sin is a perverse nature which entered into people. In someone who has been born again, the source of the will is Almighty God. “…for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” With focused attention and great care, you have to “work out” what God “works in” you— not work to accomplish or earn “your own salvation,” but work it out so you will exhibit the evidence of a life based with determined, unshakable faith on the complete and perfect redemption of the Lord. As you do this, you do not bring an opposing will up against God’s will— God’s will is your will. Your natural choices will be in accordance with God’s will, and living this life will be as natural as breathing. Stubbornness is an unintelligent barrier, refusing enlightenment and blocking its flow. The only thing to do with this barrier of stubbornness is to blow it up with “dynamite,” and the “dynamite” is obedience to the Holy Spirit.
Do I believe that Almighty God is the Source of my will? God not only expects me to do His will, but He is in me to do it.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
Jesus Christ reveals, not an embarrassed God, not a confused God, not a God who stands apart from the problems, but One who stands in the thick of the whole thing with man.
———————
Reflections
People usually say that our spirit is willing but our flesh is weak. Perhaps a better way to rephrase this would be to say that our spirit is willing but our own will is stronger than the yielding spirit.
If we are born again, our own spirit will be in alignment with the Lord. Like what Oswald is saying, we will not struggle. We will just flow with the Lord. We will experience shalom peace every single day, 24/7. There is no doubt that the Lord is with us and to that we will not only have peace, we will also have rest. A rest that also surpasses all human understanding. We may even find ourselves resting more and doing less. Yet, we are nothing less and getting more.
All these comes from His grace. Nothing of what we do can bring about salvation. Nothing we do can earn us any merits or secure for us a place in heaven or have our names written in the book of life. Nope. It is plainly because we are chosen by the Lord.
His gentle hand reaches out to us who are undeserving all the time. We turn away from Him, disobey Him, being defiant, playing truant or maybe even backslide. But you know what, He never retract that hand of grace that was extended to us. Not till we reject Him till the moment He decided to close the door.
There is a reason why His teachings are on the basis of love. Because love overcomes a lot of other things which we have no way to overcome. Only by learning His ways and by learning to love, will we be truly see what He sees, hear what He hears and feel what He feels. Meanwhile, let us try our best to obey the Holy Spirit’s prompting and not go against it or be stubborn.
Let’s pray:
Abba Father, forgive us for being disobedient, for trying to do things our own way and for being stubborn or defiant. Thank You for Your mercy on us and for forgiving our ways, trying to do our will and not Yours. Help us Father, to be able to align our will with Yours, so that we will always lean on You and not on us. All praise and thanks be to You O Lord. In the precious name of Jesus we pray. Amen 🙏🏻
Comments
Post a Comment