Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’ “ Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful. ”After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.” As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.”

During the reign of Jehoshaphat, a vast army came up from Edom against Israel. They were clearly greater in numbers and power than the forces of Israel, so Jehoshaphat cried out to God, saying, “For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you” (2 Chr. 20:12).

There are times in our lives that we simply don’t know how to respond to the event or the dilemma before us. There are truly things against which we have no power and no answers. Jehoshaphat recognized his dilemma when three kings combined their armies against Israel. He showed wisdom in two things: (1) He acknowledged his own limitations, and (2) he acknowledged that God has no limitations. He then simply declared, “Our eyes are upon you.” There are times we must choose to trust God and see what God will do on our behalf. Our faith falls on the nature of God and who he is for us – his chosen people. Every crisis, every dilemma offers the opportunity to discover more of who the Father is for us. We look to see what will he do out of his nature and his love for us.

Sometimes, we are taken by surprise. Jehoshaphat was stunned that God had even allowed these armies to form and conspire against Israel, but they were, in fact, marching briskly toward Jerusalem. The text says that all the men of Judah, with their wives and children, stood before the Lord and waited for a response. In that moment, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel, the priest, who declared to the king and the assembly, “This is what the Lord says to you, “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours but God’s…take up your positions, stand firm, and see the deliverance the Lord will give you” (2 Chr.20:15-17).

We need to understand that Old Testament battles are our blueprints for spiritual warfare. In the face of overwhelming news, the Lord reminded his people that they did not fight out of their own strength but out of his. They were to take up their positions, but primarily to witness what God would do for them. Their part was to show up for the battle but then to begin to praise and worship the Lord. As they began to turn their hearts toward Jehovah and lift up praise, he began to set ambushes. The three armies that had combined their forces against Israel were suddenly afraid, confused, and turning on one another. They slaughtered one another without Israel wielding one weapon in the natural realm. All that was left was to pick up the plunder left behind by these defeated armies.

Satan loves to intimidate and send forth a spirit of fear when he moves against God’s people. Sometimes we can overcome the enemy with the divine weapons and strategies God has already given us. At other times, what he has shown us in the past seems inadequate for the present. In those moments he is preparing to show us something new. Our part is to trust him to be who he is for us. God is unchanging. Every example of battle in the Old Testament records victory for God’s people when their hearts were turned toward him. God, by his very nature, is victorious. He cannot be anything else and he always wants to be that for his people.

Secondly, we must take up our positions and stand as children of the King, soldiers of Christ, and the faithful who have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind – a mind in harmony with the mind of Christ. We are to take up our positions with our eyes on God, waiting to see the victory and the good that God will bring out of inexplicable tragedies. It is the nature of God to create good – to create victory out of the very things Satan means for harm.

When there seems to be no adequate response to the enemy then, the most powerful weapon we can roll out is the weapon of praise and worship with our eyes fixed on the Father, the Son and the Spirit. When we worship we defy the enemy who has tried to intimidate us and take away our hearts. When we worship we remind ourselves of who God is and who he is for us. When we worship, we increase the presence of God against whom the enemy cannot stand. When we worship in the face of overwhelming odds or tragedy we can be sure that God is setting ambushes in the spiritual realm, confusing the enemy, and turning demons against one another. We then will claim the victory that Satan had once claimed. A cross and three spikes is the ultimate example of God drawing incredible good out of what seemed to be inexplicable tragedy and loss.

When we feel overwhelmed and are left with no discernable response to something that has happened, then we are to set our eyes on the Father, take up our positions in anticipation of seeing who the Father will be for us, and then worship. God will take care of the rest.

There is nothing like a championship game, won in the final seconds when your team was down and victory seemed impossible. Suddenly, the opposing team, who seemed to dominate the entire game, begins to falter. Your team begins to surge and in the last moment the unbelievable pass to the end zone or the three point shot from the edge steals the victory when all seemed lost. God specializes in those wins. It seems to take the heart out of the enemy even more than if we always dominated. It also allows us to cheer louder for our Great King who always comes through because that is who he is. Wait, praise, and see what God does. You will be amazed.