May 17
II Chronicles
18:18–II Chronicles 21:20
GOD’S BATTLE---NOT YOURS
II Chronicles
20:15
"Thus saith he
LORD. . .Be not afraid nor dismayed. . . for the battle
is not yours, but God’s."
Have you ever been
dismayed? Have you ever been terrified of a situation?
Has the very spirit of hope and courage been drained
from your very being? If so, you have somewhat of the
emotional feeling that KING JEHOSHAPHAT felt when he
learned that the AMMONITESS and MOABITES--all in battle
array–were coming to invade JUDAH. These were decadents
of LOT, by his daughters, and the very people that GOD
had forbidden the children of Israel to capture.
All JEHOSHAPHAT could
do was fall on his face before the LORD begging for
help. He prayed, "We have no might against this great
company. . .neither know we what to do." He assured God
that their eyes were upon HIM. Have you ever been in a
circumstance of life where there was no place to turn?
You fell on your knees in despair with no place to turn
but to GOD! If so, you have something in common with
Judah and their king today.
It was in this dire
condition, with skilled warriors out-numbering them,
that the PROPHET JAHAZIEL (verse 14) spoke assuring
words to the KING. He said, by the direction of the HOLY
SPIRIT, "The battle is not yours, but God’s!"
I remember very well a
time in my life, when all my human energy and strength
was spent in the care for our son. No matter how hard I
tried, things were not working out–at least not how I
thought they should work out. He was a sick person, but
in his sickness, he had a will to go in a different
direction. I tired and tried to help him. One day in
utter dispar, God spoke to me–as real as if he had a
verbal voice in my ear, "BE NOT DISMAYED. . .THE BATTLE
IS NOT YOURS, BUT GOD’S!" That was the day, I gave up
trying. I recognized that I could not do a thing to help
my son. I knew the only one who could help him fight his
battle with mental illness was God. It is a long story
that I have CONDENSED in today’s "blessing," but it is
one that is worth repeating to you in case you are
dismayed TODAY. (ysw)
"HIS
LEFT HAND"
(Song of Solomon
2:6; Job 23:9)
"His left hand
is under my head and His right and doth embrace me "
I am enclosed in
HIS embrace.
What an amazing
promise of protection, safety, and security.
His left
hand–His "secret working" of Providence,
guiding me in
the affairs of life.
He is secretly
working things together.
Embrace by His
arms,
I am truly
secure and comforted.
(GGS)
