Who Goes to Battle for You?
I listen to K-Love all the time. They play a lot of wonderful songs. But once in a while a song will have the right beat, with the right melody, with the right instruments and the right lyrics and that song will really speak to me. One such song is The After’s song “Battles”. I love the music in this song. I haven’t heard it played a lot, but I heard it enough to make me want to really know what the song was saying - so I got it and LISTENED to the words. What I discovered was a power packed message of faith in the face of all the things in this world that attempt to war against us.
Josh Havens, one of the members of the band, said that they drew on the story from 2 Chronicles in writing the song. Here is the story:
Starting at Chapter 20…. the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites[a]came to wage war against Jehoshaphat. 2 Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom,[b] from the other side of the Dead Sea……
5 Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard 6 and said:
“Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. 7 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? 8 They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying,9 ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’
10 “But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them.11 See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. 12 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.”
13 All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord.
14 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel ….
15 He (Jahaziel) 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. 16 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. 17 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.’”
Sadly there are times when the battles we are facing are of our own doing through wrong choices. But I am confident when that is the case, we know the wrong choice we made and God will give us the knowledge to fix the situation. However, the more likely scenario is where we are in a battle what is not of our making or our choosing. The situation could be the plant is closing, our job is being eliminated. Or it could be the teenager in the house is rebelling in ways that are difficult to understand. Maybe finances are tight, or down right critical and being able to pay the utility bills is threatened. Maybe there is a fear of the uncertain future. Or the battle is initiated by a family member dying causing you have to face the future alone. Or your own physical struggles seem like the biggest battle of your life, maybe even some days temping you to just stay in bed all day. Playing on the imagery in the song – the sea is too deep, too wide, the current is too strong for us to handle. In the face of these battles we find ourselves weak and feeling defeated before the battle even begins. But here is the good news for us to hold on to…God is fighting for us!!
The battle is His – that’s the whole point of the story in 2 Chronicles. And remember Moses leading the people through the Red Sea, they crossed on DRY GROUND. The song says…You’re going before me and oceans are parting. When they crossed over it wasn’t just a partial victory for the Hebrews who were running for their life from the most evil they had ever known. They were experiencing total victory as they allowed God to go before them and “fight their battle”. Not even their shoes got muddy.
I encourage you, even as I encourage myself – turn to God in full faith and allow him to go before you, parting the waters, winning the victory. And then live in to the victory by claiming His WIN for yourself. Don’t try to figure out the why or when or how – just rest in Him. For then we will know the truth of the verse that The Afters used in their song - 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (ESV)
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
If you would like to listen to the song – with the lyrics here is a link to it on YouTube.