No Power

Christian Working Woman Transcript

Tuesday, November 13, 2007 - Don’t Fight; Just Show Up!

"Don't fight; just show up!" The statement comes from a wonderful account found in 2 Chronicles 20 where Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, had to fight a vast enemy army and from all outward appearances, his little ill-equipped army was going to be soundly defeated.

Like us, he was alarmed when he realized the battle he was facing, but the first thing he did was to inquire of the Lord. Listen to the end of his prayer: "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 upon you."

Have you ever prayed that prayer? Many times God doesn't move on our behalf until we come to this place where we quit maneuvering and manipulating and planning and working, and admit we don't have the foggiest notion what to do and nothing we've tried so far has worked. That may be exactly what you need to do right now. Stop fighting and admit your own defeat.

Often we run the gamut of our ideas before we turn it over to the Lord. For example, with a relationship problem facing us, we typically try all kinds of battle plans to fight that enemy. Many times we try so hard to please that other person in order to solve the problem, and we jump through all their hoops, only to discover that the situation is no better. Or we may decide to confront and get very assertive and tell them a thing or two, and that backfires on us. Of course, there's always nagging to fall back on if you're trying to resolve a problem with another person. Sometimes we get vindictive and try to get our pound of flesh. You see, our battle plans are pretty pitiful and they'll never defeat the enemy.

Are you ready to admit defeat with that person who is the bane of your existence right now? Are you ready to acknowledge that you have no answers, no power, no plan and you simply do not know what to do? If so, you are poised for God to intervene and do something on your behalf.

Now, does that mean you just sit down and quit? No, as we see in this story of Jehoshaphat, he had to show up at the battlefield but he didn't have to fight! You can't take yourself out of the game as long as the Lord has you there. You don't walk off from that mate and say "Forget it." You don't abandon that friend just because things are tough. You don't ignore that coworker who irritates you. But you do seek God's plan–and put your eyes on Him for the answers.