The battle is the Lord's Archives -

No need for the sword, the battle is the Lord’s! Still tip-toeing up to Easter morning…you can read our other postings on Holy Week here and here.

Jesus has left the Garden of Gethsemane where He prayed “great drops of blood”…asking the Father to remove the “cup” from Him.

“Not my will, but thine be done.” Prayed Jesus.

The disciples slept on…and on…and on. Jesus could not keep them awake. Yet this was a battle He had to fight on His own.

“Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.” Matthew 26:46.

The current battle is at hand. Jesus has wrestled all night with His fate, knowing the great task before Him. Yet He gives in to the will of the Father.

“And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people.

Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.” Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?”

Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.”

When I was younger, I always felt a little sorry for Peter. He thought he was doing his Lord a favor by intervening on His behalf and chopping off the ear of a soldier! “Impetuous Peter”, we call him. Jesus responds to his hasty overreaction in this fashion,

“But Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?’” Matthew 26:52-54 NKJV.

Put your sword in its place, Peter! Put your sword in its place ___________ (insert YOUR name here).

How many times have we been like Peter? We think we have it all figured out. We know the ending (or so, we assume). We do not understand why God has not intervened in the situation and just with His spoken Word, sentenced everyone involved to the Lake of Fire. That might be a little dramatic but we are that impulsive at times.

Friends, it isn’t our battle.

The cross belonged to Jesus. He had to give, He had to suffer, He had to endure to the very end. All of this so we would not have to! Yes, He did it for YOU.

Every battle you have faced since you embraced the cross, the CHRIST, has been handled by Jesus.

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He fights.

You rest in confidence.

He wins.

See, He didn’t stay on the cross. Please do not keep Him there! He had to go to Calvary, He had to give His very life as the ultimate sacrificial Lamb so there would be no more need for a sacrifice!

The veil in the temple was torn in two, symbolizing the perishing of the Law and instituting of Grace. No more need for a sacrifice or a mediator. No need to confess your sins to a priest or live in rules and rituals.

He paid the price. He fought the battle. He continues to fight for YOU and ME. On our behalf, He can move mountains, crush the enemy, and send the answer in a moment.

We face anxiousness in this Uncertain Season we find ourselves in right now. But none of it is a surprise to our God! Call on Him, give Him your fears and doubts and flood your days with worship and The Word. He doesn’t intend for you to fight this battle alone either. Be encouraged, Sunday is coming!

“Fasting is abstaining from anything that hinders prayer.” ~ Andrew Bonar

Learning about another great man of faith in the Bible who turned to fasting and prayer. Catch up on our previous posts here.

Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was about to be attacked by the Moabites and the Ammonites. “Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, Engedi).” 2 Chronicles 20:2 ESV.

Jehoshaphat did what any smart man of God would have done; any king that knew of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would call a fast! Not just any fast, but all of Judah came together to pray and seek their God for His help. “Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.”

Did you notice the repetition of the word seek? Jehoshaphat was known as a king who “sought the God of his father.” Seek, in the Hebrew, means “to trample under foot,” or even interpreted that you go there so often you have made a path in the dirt!

The king’s prayer is interesting in that he doesn’t mention the problem that he is facing in the first four verses, he mentions GOD. And even when he gets to the problem, his focus is still on the One who can fix it. ^“O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” 2 Chronicles 20:12 ESV.

That focus soon pays off because suddenly, the spirit of the Lord comes upon Jahaziel, a Levite, and he says, “…Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s…Tomorrow go ye down against them…and ye shall find them at the end of the brook…Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.” 2 Chronicles 20:15-17 KJV.

What an answer to prayer!

What power!

What authority!

The next morning they got up early and headed into the wilderness and King Jehoshaphat said, “Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.” 2 Chronicles 20:20 KJV.

I love what he does next. He appointed singers, “…unto the LORD, just to praise the beauty of holiness, and as they went out before the army, just to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.” Wow!

They took time to praise the LORD in the MIDDLE of the battle!

God had told them that it was HIS battle and they took Him at His Word.

When they began to sing and praise, then the LORD began to act. The Bible says He set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moabites and Mount Seir and they were all smitten!

The children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, trying to destroy them. So when they had accomplished that then they destroyed one another.

When Judah showed up at the watch tower in the wilderness they looked out at the multitude and all they could see were the dead, “none escaped.”

“And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they head heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel.”

God had delivered His people once again because they turned to Him in fasting and prayer, believed and trusted in Him.

What can you believe God for today? What are you needing an answer for in your life? What battles are you trying to fight on your own?

Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord!

He is your VICTORIOUS WARRIOR and this is HIS BATTLE, not yours, Let Him take care of it for you. Trust Him, put your confidence in Him and then do what King Jehoshaphat and his people did…

Worship and give Him praise for the victory that is coming! Whether you see it today or tomorrow doesn’t matter. He is in control and His timing is perfect. Trust Him for the victory and then rest in His promises.

Our eyes are on YOU, Lord!

The Daniel Fast, A Devotional, is a great tool for ANY fast that you choose as a sacrifice to the Lord. 21 days of devotions and recipes too. Available in eBook or paperback!

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