Stand

I had been going through a particularly hard time. I had gone to the Lord in prayer, crying out my need to Him; crying out my need for Him. In His sweet, quiet way He spoke this verse into my heart: 

"You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you,..Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.'" 2 Chronicles 20:17

Discouragement comes to all of us at one time or another. I think it comes to those in ministry even more than usual but perhaps I am biased in thinking that way. God understands our discouragement. I'm sure there were times when He walked among men when He was discouraged. Maybe it was when the disciples still didn't understand He was about to die for the sins of the whole world, even though He had been telling them for three years in constant teaching. Maybe it was when Peter rashly cut off the centurion's ear. Maybe He wondered if they'd ever get what He had been trying to teach them.

But of course He knew they'd get it. He knew they would go on to do great things in His Name. He knew. So even if He was humanly discouraged for a moment, He divinely knew how things would turn out. We don't have that same ability. We can't see the end product of our labour. We can't see how God is molding and shaping those who come against us. We only have to trust that He is.

I love how He promises in this verse that we will not have to fight this battle. After all 'the battle belongs to the Lord'. He does give us our instructions though. We are to 'take up our positions and stand firm'. We don't have to defend ourselves. We don't have to argue for our rights. We just have to stand firm and face those who oppose us knowing that as we face them we are doing so with God on our side. He will fight the battle. He will defend us. He will take care of us.

Sometimes that's a hard lesson to learn because we try to fix things on our own. But when we realize that we are not in a physical fight but a spiritual one against the very forces of evil, then we begin to understand that no amount of verbal defending or physical action will change the circumstances. When someone comes against you, especially against your work for the Lord, you are in a spiritual battle and that's a battle that the Lord will fight for you. He alone can change hearts. He alone can change mindsets. He alone can take a hard, bitter heart and make it soft and tender once again.

Yes, it hurts when people come against you. Yes, its discouraging. But let me encourage you to take up your position and stand. Just stand. They might seem like they are your problem but they're not. They are only the tool Satan is using to discourage you; to get you to quit. Don't worry, you're not the first and unless God changes them, you won't be the last person Satan attacks using them to do his dirty work.

God will fight this battle. Just stand and watch Him work. He wins. He always does and if you've made your position in Him, you'll be on the winning side. Stand. Remain firm. The battle is the Lord's.