Luke Hellebronth - Devotions from ’Stand Up’预览

STAND UP

The Kingdom of God is advancing and as the people of God we are caught up in this movement that takes us from battle into blessing. Along this journey the question is not will we face battles, that's inevitable, but how will we respond to them? Will we surrender in fear or stand up in faith?

The people of Judah faced a huge battle in 2 Chronicles 20 with a vast army approaching. Facing imminent battle the King, Jehoshaphat, gathered the people and encouraged them to look to God (v12). In the midst of fear and panic they began to worship reminding themselves of the strength of their God.

"In your hand are power and might, so that no one is able to withstand you." (v6)

The amazing discovery they made that day was that there is power in the praises of God. With the singers and worshipers placed at the front of the army the people of Judah began to celebrate God's goodness. And as they sang they saw their enemies, this invading army, defeated before them as the army turned on themselves. A great victory for the people of Judah, and all they did was worship.

William Temple, a former Archbishop of Canterbury wrote, ‘This world can be saved from political chaos and collapse by one thing, and that is worship.’

In life we will all face pain, problems and battles and we are left with a choice of how we will respond. The encouragement from this passage is that even when we don't know what to do - or how best to respond, we can fix our eyes on Jesus. For when we fix our eyes on Him we have the faith to stand up, to take courage. Even more than that we can begin to run with his vision and live as people of His presence. That's what sets us apart and that's why we can boldly stand up and take the lead just as God commanded Joshua (Joshua 7:10).

The amazing thing about coming through a battle is that there is always more blessing as a result. It says (in 2 Chronicles 20:25) that after the armies had been defeated there was so much plunder left behind form the enemy armies, that the people of Judah spend three days collecting it all. The wilderness where they expected defeat and possible death, became a place of great blessing.

We don't have all the answers and we are all aware of our weaknesses and vulnerabilities but we can find confidence that our faith is in God. Ultimately the battle isn't ours but God's. With this great truth in mind we can stand up and sing

"Our faith is in You. The battle is Yours."