In 2 Chronicles 20 we see Jehoshaphat faced with a dilemma. He is facing the combined forces of the Edomites (descendants of Esau) and the Moabites and the Ammonites (descendants of Lot’s daughters). And when he cries out to God, the answer he gets is “don’t be afraid, the battle is not yours.”
How many times have we been surrounded by the enemy and when we cry out to the Lord for help, we get the same answer… “wait.” That is all we hear, but the Lord is saying more if we will just listen. Just like He told Jehoshaphat,
2 Chron 20:17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.
That is the position we are to take up when our enemy surrounds us and begins chanting “defeat” in our ears. His goal is always the same; he wants to intimidate, depress, and rob us of our joy and peace. And our answer to that should be the same as Jehoshaphat’s.
2 Chron 20:18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.
The next morning, he sent a choir to praise the Lord and all the enemy troops became so disoriented that they turned on each other and were annihilated. There is a lesson in there for us.
Satan used to be Lucifer, the worship leader in heaven. So, when he hears us worshiping and praising God it triggers something with in him that reminds him of what he once was, where he once was, and what he once had. In his ears our worship is “misophonia” – hatred or dislike of sound that is accompanied by emotional distress, anger, and avoidance. Just like fingernails on a chalkboard. He just wants to get as far away from it as possible.
We must never forget that the answers to all our challenges lies with the Holy Spirit, and access to those answers is always attained by stopping and worshiping. Then when we are armed with faith, we can lift up our voice in praise to the Lord and watch our enemy run with his hands over his ears.
The battle is truly the Lords, but we have the privilege of watching Him bring us the victory. We just need to trust in our Commander In Chief and praise Him for the promised victory … and watch old Satan run!