He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! 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. 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, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.” 2 Chronicles 20:15-17 NIV
As humans, our instinct is often to fight our battles our way. When trouble comes, we want to charge forward, fix it ourselves, and rely on our own strength, wisdom, and determination. Yet throughout Scripture, God repeatedly shows us that victory is not found in doing things our way—it is found in trusting Him enough to do things His way.
The difficult part of trusting God’s way is that it almost always requires waiting. And waiting produces something every believer understands well—angst. We are human. We want answers. We want movement. We want relief. We want to know how the story ends. Yet God often asks us to trust Him while we stand in the middle of uncertainty.
Consider Moses. As Joshua fought the Amalekites in the valley, Moses stood on the hill with the staff of God in his hands. As long as his hands remained raised, Israel prevailed; when his hands dropped, the enemy gained ground (Exodus 17:8-13). Can you imagine the thoughts that must have crossed Moses’ mind as the battle below raged on? Every passing moment carried uncertainty. Every setback could have brought fear. Yet Moses remained where God had placed him, holding the staff of God high.
There are moments in our lives when our greatest act of faith is simply remaining where God has placed us and keeping our hands raised in surrender, even while we wait and wonder.
Then there is Joshua at Jericho. God instructed him to march around the city once each day for six days and seven times on the seventh day before shouting in victory (Joshua 6). Imagine the thoughts of those marching soldiers. Day one—nothing happened. Day two—nothing happened. By day six, there must have been questions, doubts, and perhaps even frustration.
Yet obedience often requires us to keep walking when we see no evidence that anything is changing. We’ve all been there. We pray, and the walls remain. We obey, and circumstances seem unchanged. We trust, and the answer has not yet come. The walls often fall just beyond the place where we are tempted to stop walking.
Consider Gideon. God reduced an army of thirty-two thousand men to only three hundred.
The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.” Judges 7:2 NIV
Can you imagine Gideon’s angst as his army became smaller and the enemy remained massive? Humanly speaking, every reduction made victory appear less likely. Yet God’s plans often become more uncomfortable before they become clear. Why? Because God is teaching us that our confidence cannot be in our resources, our strength, our intelligence, or our plans. Our confidence must be in Him.
And perhaps the greatest example of this truth is found in Jesus Himself, in the Garden of Gethsemane, as he prayed, knowing what lay ahead.
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:39 NIV
Even our Lord experienced the weight of what was before Him. He felt the anguish. He understood sorrow. He knew what suffering awaited Him. Yet He surrendered His will to the Father’s. That should encourage all of us.
Feeling anxious does not mean we lack faith. Feeling overwhelmed does not mean we have failed. Feeling the weight of uncertainty does not mean we are weak. Moses likely felt it. Joshua likely felt it. Gideon surely felt it. And Jesus Himself felt it. The difference was not the absence of angst. The difference was their response to it.
They obeyed.
They trusted.
They surrendered.
And they kept moving forward according to God’s instructions.
As it is written:
For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Romans 8:36-37 NIV
Yes, there will be battles ahead. There will be seasons of waiting, uncertainty, and fear. There will be moments when God’s instructions make little sense and His timing seems painfully slow.
But remember this: The battle belongs to the Lord. Our responsibility is not to understand every step of His plan. Our responsibility is to trust Him enough to take the next step in obedience.
When we fight God’s way, we can trust God for God’s results.
Love one another,
Barnabas