Are you facing another battle?
Does it seem at times like the opposition will just never end?
Well, I've got an encouraging word for you today.
My name is Leanne Friesman and I'm with Restoring Word and today it's a short little message
just to inspire hope in you.
You know, there was a king in the Bible in the Old Testament named Jehoshaphat and he
was facing an impossible situation.
It just looked like in every direction that he was going to be attacked, that he was going
to battle and there just didn't seem to be any way in the natural he was going to be
able to win.
And I'm in 2 Chronicles chapter 20, which just happens to be one of my favorite chapters
because it really tells you a lot about character and it sets a beautiful example for you.
And for me when we're facing something incredibly difficult that maybe we don't understand and
maybe in the natural looks impossible and we know the odds are not good and we're getting
the bad diagnosis, but there is a place that you run to and you run into God's presence.
You don't run away from God because God is the answer to the problem.
And I know it's easy to get mad, to question, to wonder, okay, God, where are you and why
am I going through this again?
And even it can even get so bad that you even question whether or not God is real and does
he really love me?
And I have good news for you today.
He does love you and he is the answer to your problems.
He's not the problem.
When you begin to study the Levitical priesthood here, you can learn a lot about spiritual
warfare and, you know, we all go through difficult things.
But the first thing that King Jehoshaphat did starting in about, well, chapter 20, and
I'm going to go down into about chapter, verse 3, alarmed Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire
of the Lord and he proclaimed a fast for all of Judah.
So what's the first thing he did?
Number one, he knew there was something coming and he knew he was going to have to get unity
and he was going to have to pray and he was going to have to fast.
That'll preach.
Number two, instead of getting mad at God, he assembled people together and he called
for prayer.
And here in the second point is he begins just pouring his heart out to God.
And here he says, oh, our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before
your people, Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham, your friend?
He's reminding God, wait a minute, didn't you say that this is where I was supposed
to be and this was our inheritance and God, didn't you promise us this?
You know, you can be doing everything right and still be under attack.
That doesn't mean that you're doing anything wrong or that there's some sort of secret
sin in your life and now that's why you're under attack.
No, you can be doing everything right.
Go to God and remind him of what he promised you.
God, you told me this was my inheritance.
Lord, you told me this place was for us and for our descendants and for generations to
come.
Pray, fast, begin to pray and remind God of what he said and what he's done.
Okay.
And then he begins to remind the people that who God is and his strength and in his power.
Even here down in verse 12, he says, oh, our God, will you not judge them 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 on you.
Sometimes it's okay not to know what to do, you know?
What do I do now?
I don't know.
Where do I go now?
I don't know.
What's my answer?
I know God's the answer, but I'm going to trust.
Maybe I don't see that answer right now.
Maybe I'm not getting a clear direction.
Maybe I'm not knowing exactly what I'm supposed to do, but I do know that I go to him and
that in the middle of the battle, I trust him.
Have you ever gone through something and then you look back and you realize afterwards
that God was actually fighting your battle all along?
And you look back and you just think, God, you were so good to me.
God, you knew and I didn't.
God, you preserved me in ways I couldn't have even explained yet.
He's that kind of God. He is that good. He will preserve. He will protect. He will care for you.
But I love it here because even this leader, number one, he wasn't afraid to admit that maybe
he didn't know it all. And number two, he reminded everybody that he was leading,
that God is in control. You know, if you're in leadership, you don't necessarily have to have
all the answers. Isn't that comforting? Isn't it nice to know that you can be transparent and you
can say, I don't get this, but I trust you, God. That's so good because no one is perfect. No one
has the answers. And at times, especially when you're in leadership, you don't know.
You don't know the full picture. I learned long ago that I trust my pastor and I trust my leaders
that are over me. I don't have to know everything. In fact, if you've worked in ministry in any
amount of time, you know, it's often better. You don't know things. You just trust that what you
don't know is for your own good. And God is doing something bigger than what you could have imagined.
It goes on here. And when the spirit of the Lord came upon Jehazel, son of Zechariah,
the son of Benaniah, the son of JL, the son of Benaniah, a Levite, a descendant of Asaph.
Ooh, this is a musician who comes from a musical family. I wrote an awful lot about the Levites
and the importance and the significance of Levites in my book years ago, Heart of Worship.
And I love studying the Levites. They're near and dear to my heart. And they were musicians that
were trained to lead in the temple and they knew how to lead their people. And that was to lead
their people into the presence of God through praise and worship. Okay. And this is what he says.
Do not be afraid or be discouraged because the vast army for the battle is not yours, but God's.
Tomorrow, march out against them. And so it gives them instructions and they're to take their
positions and they're to stand firm and they're to wait and they're to watch. Have you ever been
through something so bad that you just literally had to praise and pray and then stand and watch?
It's hard, but you know what? God goes ahead of you. And when God goes ahead of you,
what do you have to fear? He's in control. He's leading you. He's giving you peace that
passes all understanding. And then going on, Jehoshaphat did another thing.
He bowed down here in verse 18. He bows down with his face to the ground with all the people of
Jerusalem, Judah and Jerusalem, and they worship before the Lord. This leader led by example,
bowing down before God in worship is biblical. It's one of those Hebrew words I love to teach on.
The king was leading by example. He was going before his people. He was acknowledging who
was fighting the battle for him. Then some Levites from the Kohathites and the Korites
stood up and praised the God of Israel with a very loud voice. Early in the morning, they left for
the desert and they set out and Jehoshaphat 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. And after consulting, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord
and to praise. If you are a worship leader, you are appointed to lead your people in difficult
seasons, seasons where things are painful, seasons where things can be confusing, but you have been
appointed and anointed to do what you're doing. And that is you're leading your people by example
into God's presence in a time of great difficulty. And it's a holy and sacred thing that you're
really doing for your people here. And then they sang, give thanks to the Lord for his love
endures forever. And they began to sing praise. And it's really interesting here because what
they did was they took these praise and worship leaders and the musicians went ahead of the army.
The Levites went ahead of the guns and the tanks and the spears and the arrows and the men who had
practiced and become skillful in the natural things of war. They put the praise and worship
leaders who had become skillful at the supernatural.
things of war. Okay, it's important that you do everything in the natural, yes, but
then it's also important that when you go to battle, you do all of the things in
the supernatural as well. Okay, because when you combine both, that is when God
can do supernatural, powerful things for you on your behalf. He wants to be your
defender. He wants to protect you. He wants to preserve you. And it goes on
here that, as they began to sing, the Lord set out ambushments against the men of
Ammon, Moab, and Mount Sair. And it's amazing the repercussions, and I'm
going to talk about this next week, of how fighting battles God's way brings
provision, it brings blessing, it brings a testimony, it brings glory to Him.
Because ultimately, you know, when we fight, and when we praise, and when we we
do things God's way, not necessarily our way, but when when we fight things
according to His way and His Word, and we invite Him into the situation, He is
going to be there for us, and He is going to fight. One more thing before I close
today, I just I just want to remind you that when you're in the middle of the
battle, you know, people can do and say very painful, difficult things when
you're going through something hard. We lost my pastor here years ago, Dr. Billy
Joe Doherty, who was a man of great faith, and he was very, very strong. And I can
tell you that when he passed, there was just confusion. People just didn't
understand, and a lot of people said stupid stuff. You know, people are gonna
say stupid stuff, and when they do, you've just got to forgive them. When my
grandmother passed away, people said painful, stupid stuff to my mother, and
she never really got over it. And I never even really knew about it until my aunt
told me about it years after my mother had passed. You know, people can say
really stupid things when you're in the middle of the battle. You've got to guard
your heart. Don't get battle, don't get, don't get bitter, is what I meant. Don't,
don't take what they say personally or to heart. You guard your heart. You keep
your heart in that right place. Repent of any bitterness or unforgiveness. Let
it go, baby, let it go. Let God go before you. He will fight your battles, and you
will find that if you, if you forgive, you're not always gonna forget, but if
you forgive, and you let it go, and you keep pressing into his goodness, keep
pressing into his provision, and, and his love for you, I can guarantee you, you're
gonna see him move in ways that you couldn't even imagine. He is good. Let him
fight your battles for you. Thanks for listening. It means the world to me if
you'll like and share this message with others that you think need to hear this.
Thank you for listening, and have a wonderful day. Thanks.