https://odb.org/2026/07/31/a-battle-won
2 Chronicles 20:14–19 (NIV): 14 Then the Spirit of the LORD came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.
15 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. 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.’ ”
18 Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD. 19 Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.
Though she enjoyed befriending and helping folks in her church’s seniors ministry, Carol found herself being picked on by its domineering leader. She felt so bothered by it that she had to seek counseling. She was advised to quit the ministry, but she didn’t want to “abandon” the seniors. Feeling caught in between, she prayed to God for guidance, and He gave her comfort and assurance as she submitted her fears to Him. He showed her that she should talk to the leader but trust Him to resolve the issue.
When King Jehoshaphat heard of a powerful enemy approaching Jerusalem, his first response was to pray. Appealing to God’s sovereignty, he said, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you” (2 Chronicles 20:12). Instead of relying on their own strength, the king and people of Judah submitted themselves and their troubles to God (v. 18). God’s answer to the king and people through the prophet Jahaziel was heartening: “Do not be afraid or discouraged . . . . For the battle is not yours, but God’s” (v. 15). (Leslie Koh, Our Daily Bread 31st July 2026)
You will notice that in today’s theme of God fighting our battles for us, the two life illustrations concerns His work or His kingdom on earth. The first was Carol’s involvement in the seniors ministry where she was picked on by the ministry’s domineering leader. The second is the story of Jehoshaphat of Jerusalem in Judah being approached by a powerful enemy. These are not personal struggles with relationship issues or meeting work deadlines or dealing with office politics or overcoming personal bad habits.
There is however a tendency for us, perhaps occasionally, to look at bible stories and seeing God work in wondrous ways that we see ourselves in those stories like we are Jehoshaphat (incidentally one of Israel’s good kings) or Joshua when the LORD encouraged him, “do not be afraid or discouraged for I am with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). Or we see ourselves as Elisha when the Aramean Army in 2 Kings 6 was about to attack Israel and Elisha showed his servant Gehazi the mighty hosts of heaven in the spiritual realm ready to do battle for Israel. Thus, we imagined that God’s mighty army is on our side fighting our personal battles for us.
I am not discounting God’s heavenly hosts working for us in the spiritual realm or He loves us that He is personally involved in our lives. Unless we sensed in the spirit that God’s rhema word for us at a particular time or season are the relevant bible stories, we should not randomly pick and apply such biblical passages arbitrarily to our life situations. This is because in most of such bible passages there is a historical context that has something to do with God’s work in ancient Israel, His chosen nation and people. If we apply them to our work in the present Kingdom of God like our ministry in church or His plans and purposes for our lives (for example, our mission work to preach the Gospel), well and fine. But it may not be so directly applicable to our personal struggles in life or at work. So if we have a conflict at work with a colleague, it is not necessarily true that God is fighting our battles for us vis-a-vis this colleague. But if it concerns the battle we are fighting in the spritual realm to reach out to this colleague with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that’s a different context to the situation. Nevertheless there is nothing stopping us in seeking the Lord out in prayer for such personal conflicts, it’s just that we shouldn’t think or imagine as though we are Jehoshaphat or Elisha or Joshua of the Scriptures.
Have a good weekend ahead, everyone! May we dwell in His presence more and more each day – surely goodness and mercy shall follow us the rest of our days as we dwell in the house of the LORD forever!
Ronnie's Thoughts 