Speaker: Sis. Techie Rodriguez, Elder, The Lord's Flock Catholic Charismatic Community

" Take Your Position! The Battle is Mine! "

Judah was being invaded by Moabites, Ammonites and Meunites. King Jehoshaphat of Judah was frightened; he consulted the Lord. He proclaimed a fast for all Judah . (2 Chronicles 20:1-4).

Jehoshaphat prayed to the Lord who told him and all of Judah : “Do not fear or lose heart at the sight of this vast multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's.” (2 Chronicles 20:15). “You will not have to fight in this encounter. Take your places [position], stand firm, and see how the Lord will be with you to deliver you, Judah and Jerusalem . Do not fear or lose heart . Tomorrow go out to meet them, and the Lord will be with you.” (verse 17).

The Lord is the captain of the host (Joshua 5:13-15) and our head and commander-in-chief (2 Chronicles 13:`12). We should not fear; we should take our position in the battlefield and stand firm.

When we are threatened by dangers and problems in life, our natural reaction is to be afraid. King Jehoshaphat was frightened when he got the message about the invading multitude from Edom . He hastened to consult the Lord. (2 Chronicles 20:3).

Like King Jehoshaphat, we should consult the Lord and hear directly from him.

God wants us to be free from fear. He has asked us many times in the Bible: “Do not fear.” (2 Chronicles 20:17); “Do not be afraid.” (Matthew 10:31, 28:10).

God wants us to have perfect love in order for us not to have fear. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18).

God also wants us to focus on him and not on our fears. Our knowledge about who God is will help us focus on the Lord. God's promise to be with us [ “Fear not, for I am with you”. – Isaiah 43:5] is our assurance that should be enough to erase all our fears.

God's promise “not to leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5) is another reason why we should not fear. The Lord asks us to “Be firm and steadfast.” (Joshua 1:6). He wants us to fear not, to be strong, to have courage, and to keep moving forward. “For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7).

Whenever fear attacks us, let us hear from God. Let us listen to the Lord and obey him. Let obedience to God be our lifestyle.

Satan will try to obstruct what God is telling us. He will try to induce fear in us and to discourage us. Let us resist the devil and he will flee from us. (James 4:7).

In biblical times, the people of Israel and Judah were harassed by their enemies: Amalekites, Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites, and many others. In our present time, our own “enemies” may include financial hardships, marital problems, poor health conditions, insecurities, stress, and other difficult situations.

These problems can create fear within us if we do not face them immediately. How do we resolve these problems? Let us learn from the following examples of King Jehoshaphat:

1. King Jehoshaphat consulted God and sought his word. He prayed to God. (2 Chronicles 20:5-12).

When we encounter problems, we should run to God and not to people. We must seek God first and He will show us a way to resolve our problems. He will touch other people to help us.

In case of troubles, we should run, not to the phone to ask other people's help, but to the “throne” of God to pray. God will tell us what to do and even create situations in order to help us. We should not suggest to God what He should do, nor tell him the names of those He will touch to help us. God knows how to help us best.

When we ask for God's help, we should not be afraid because fear leads to doubt. “But he should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind.” (James 1:6).

We can combat fear by hearing the word of God. “Faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17). God's battle plan requires that we take our position and hear the word of God faithfully.

Taking our position means proclaiming with our mouth God's words that we read in the Bible and hear from our teachers. It also means witnessing for the Lord and proclaiming his blessings and goodness to us.

Taking our position also means consulting the Lord always. King Jehoshaphat consulted the Lord even though he already had experience in many battles.

Even if we already have much experience and repeated work, we should still consult the Lord. Our over-self-confidence can make us forget asking wisdom and new ideas from the Lord. We should always ask the Holy Spirit to anoint us with new ideas and new methods. The main source of ideas, methods, and power is the Lord! Let us consult God always. Let us depend on him all the time.

2. King Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast for all Judah . (2 Chronicles 20:3).

What are the purposes of fasting?

a. To be heard by God . “So we fasted, and prayed to our God for this and our petition was granted.” (Ezra 8:23).

b. To change the mind of God. “When the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.” (Jonah 3:5). “When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out.” (Jonah 3:10).

c. To experience deliverance.

d. For help and healing.

e. For personal sanctity.

f. For revelation.

g. To free the captives.

3. K ing Jehoshaphat asked his people to trust in the Lord, to sing to the Lord, and to praise the holy Appearance [the Lord]. (2 Chronicles 20:20-21).

On their way to battle, the inhabitants of Jerusalem were praising the Lord. They were singing jubilant hymns. After their joyful victory, they thanked the Lord celebrating with harps, lyres, and trumpets. (2 Chronicles 20:20-28).

Praising is commending and acknowledging the goodness of God. It is magnifying the power of the Lord and lifting up his name.

We praise and glorify God by talking to him about who He is to us. We talk about him, about his majestic power, about his great wonders. We also praise by describing God and declaring his mighty acts.

Then we pray by acknowledging his overwhelming authority. We confess with our lips what we believe. We also quote from the Holy Scriptures. We declare God's word. [ “It shall not return to me void.” -Isaiah 55:11].

We present our problems to God. We claim his promises. (Psalms 119:11-16, Psalm 32:7-8, and many others).

Man's main purpose in life is to praise and worship God, his creator. As man praises God, the Lord acts. When we sing praises to God and worship the Lord, our fear will be gone. Within us, there will be peace and joy, instead of fear. God is now in full control of ourselves and everything around us. We are now ready for the battle; after all, it is not ours, but God's.