My Help
There is a wonderful prayer in 2 Chronicles 20 by King Jehoshaphat that ends with the simple sentence “we do not know what to do, but we look to you.” The key word in this sentence is “but.” I checked several translations to be sure, and they all use the word “but” as the conjunction between these two sentences. So often we say to God, “I don’t know what to do, so I’ll ask God, but Jehoshaphat essentially said, “we don’t know what to do, but that doesn’t matter because we are relying on you, God.”
God’s answer was equally wonderful. “You do not have to fight this battle. Position yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.” Relying on God doesn’t mean sitting back and doing nothing. God tells them to “position” themselves, or “stand firm” as some translations state. In other words, don’t give up, be strong, prepare. That preparation could be any number of things depending on the circumstances. I think of it as doing whatever you would do if you were handling the situation yourself…except, the next phrase from God is “stand still” – prepare yourself for battle, but let me do it.
Related articles
- The Battle Is Not Yours (graceandfaith4u.com)
- The Battle Is Mine Says the Lord… (apmadriaga.wordpress.com)
from my notebook 