Devotional: You Need Only Be Still

Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. And he said, "Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the LORD to you: 'Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you." -- 2 Chornicles 20:14-17

I absolutely love this passage of Scripture! I came across it accidentally, as a cross-reference to another Scripture I was reading at the time, and it totally stood out to me. Let me summarize the story for you, and then I'll point out what God showed me through this Scripture.

Judah is really troubled, because King Jehoshaphat has just received word that the people of Moab, Ammon, and Mount Seir are rising up against them. "A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar," one of the messengers tells the king. Well, as you can imagine, the king is fearful, so he goes and seeks the Lord. Judah fasts and seeks His guidance in the situation. Here's verses 9- 12:

"Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, 'If disaster comes upon us-sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine-we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.' And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir-whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them- here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You."

This is when the Spirit of the Lord comes upon Jahaziel, who says that the battle is the Lord's, and they won't even need to fight. "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord," he says. So they stand and worship God with loud voices. The next morning they woke up early, and appointed those who would sing praises. Others worshiped the beauty of God's holiness, saying, "Praise the LORD, for His mercy endures forever." An amazing thing happens! The three peoples that had come up against Judah suddenly start killing and ambushing one another! First, the people of Moab and Ammon cut off the people of Mount Seir, and then they finally start killing one another. Not one escaped, it tells us. When King Jehoshaphat and his army came to gather the spoils, there was so much, it took them three days to carry it all away! They continued to praise God for all He had done for them, and because of Jehoshaphat's obedience to God, God gave him a restful reign over the house of Judah.

I'd encourage you to read 2 Chronicles for yourself this week. There are so many things we can learn from this chapter, but let me pick out a few things. Firstly, when fear struck King Jehoshaphat, what did he do? The first thing he did was brought His troubles before the Lord with fasting and prayer. Then, He reminded God of His faithfulness in other times and trouble, and then pleaded for deliverance again. I love this, because it makes it clear throughout the New Testament, that this is exactly how God wants us to be today! Here's Philippians 4:6-7

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

So when you feel anxious? Bring it to God, tell Him what you need, and thank Him for His goodness! Then His peace will guard your heart. Never start complaining or running your mouth, because that will only make you feel more anxious. Cast your care upon the Lord, for He cares for you!

Then, when the Spirit of the Lord comes upon Jahaziel, he says for them to stand STILL and see the salvation of the Lord. They didn't have to do anything! You know those times when we have so much turmoil going on in our lives, that we seek God about it, demand an answer and then go ahead and do something without His guidance, because it seems He's silent? I know I've done this more than once, but here's the deal: Wait! I know it seems so hard, like waiting is the hardest thing on planet earth at this time in your life, but God's promises for waiting are overabundant. Isaiah 40:31 says, "But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint." Psalm 27:14 says, "Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!" Those are just two out of the hat, but realize that when God asks you to wait and stand still to see His salvation, He will strengthen your heart and give you His peace in waiting. So when you feel like you need that answer now and God's asking you to wait, ask Him to strengthen your heart for the answer and give you His peace! It's His will, and we know that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, we know that we have whatever we ask for! That's a 1 John 5:14-15 paraphrase. :)

And lastly, the power of praise! That's what this story highlights to me. When life is crashing down around you, start to sing songs to Him. Start speaking His word into your situation, start to pray and intercede for God's will to be done in your life as it is in heaven. Let praise become a normal part of your life, because God is enthroned on your praises (Psalm 22:3)!

When we learn to praise God, surrender our problems to Him, thank Him for His promises and all the times He has already been good to us, and wait for His salvation, instead of taking matters into our own hands, we will see Him do the impossible for us. Just like he caused a whole multitude to fall by its own hands, He will cause the impossible to happen in our own lives. The life of surrender to God is indeed an exciting one!

What part of this story speaks most to you? I'd love to hear about it! Feel free to leave a comment or email me with your answer. :)