"All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the LORD . . . This is what the LORD says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged . . . For the battle is not yours, but God's.'" ~selected verses from 2 Chronicles 20:12-15
"The he [an angel] continued, 'Do no be afraid Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen . . ." ~Daniel 10:14(a)
Have you ever been in a situation where you have just simply been . . . stuck? Praying, praying praying, doing all that you know to do, a need to fill, encouragement all around that what you are praying for is needed and beneficial . . . but nothing happens? Frustrating.
Well, before you give up, consider that two of the most faithful men of God experienced the same sort of problem. Both experienced a great need for the Lord's intervention and for guidance as to what to do. Daniel fasted and prayed for three weeks (21 days) over an issue and yet, even though the need was great, no answer came. Jehoshaphat knew that a great army was coming to destroy the people of Judah; recognizing that there was no place to run and that ONLY the Lord could save them, "all" they could do was to look to the Lord for His answer, for His deliverance.
And you know what? BOTH were answered! Both were reminded that the battle ~ and the victory ~ are the Lord's. Daniel, in particular, found out that the Lord had answered his prayer the very moment it was prayed, but one of the devil's minions was sent to stop the answer from coming to pass. God then sent Michael, the Archangel, to fight the demon "prince" and make sure that Daniel's answer came through. Can you imagine? God will make sure that our prayers are answered, even if He has to send mighty angels to deliver that answer!
But I have a feeling that most of us are more like Jehoshaphat; we pray and still we come to our whit's end, we gather praying friends and family around us and then "all" we can do is stand there before the Lord and look up. When the reality is: simply standing before the Lord is the best place to be. That's the seat of honor.
That's the front row seat to watch the Lord fight our battles and work out all things for our good.
Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><
I love the picture you've painted with your words here today, Kim...especially in the last paragraph..."That's the front row seat to watch the Lord fight our battles and work out all things for our good". How many times have I gone to the Lord REPEATEDLY and felt as if the answer would never come without ever once considering the verses of Scripture that you used here today! And I KNOW they are there...have read them many times. But it seems that it is easier to pout and think He hasn't heard me to begin with or that He's refusing to answer INSTEAD of sitting down in that front row seat of faith and watching God fight my battles for me! I've been challenged here today, Kim...and that's a VERY good thing!
ReplyDeleteJust beautiful story of faith and hope.
ReplyDeleteBlessings for the reminder of this great moment in the bible.
Blessings1