Stepping Forth
Our Bible Study is currently reading 2 Chronicles 20, where the kingdom of Judah is facing old enemies that God wouldn’t let his people conquer back in their exodus from Egypt. King Jehoshaphat, fearing the approaching armies of enemy forces, “set himself to seek the Lord.” He praises the Lord and prays, “we have no power against this vast army; we do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” Then the Holy Spirit comes upon a Levite, Jahaziel, who encourages the people: “Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s… go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”
Jehoshaphat bows and worships the Lord, and the Levites stand up to praise the Lord God with loud voices. The next morning, King Jehoshaphat appoints people to sing to the Lord and people to praise Him, these were to go out ahead of the army: a praise and worship team.
This reminds me of a sermon our worship pastor Bethany gave on Joshua 3, where God instructs Joshua to send the priests, carrying high the Ark of the Covenant-the physical presence of God- ahead of the armed men and into the raging river Jordan. Over and over Joshua and his people are told “be strong and very courageous, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” The priests are to step out ahead of the armed men into that flood-stage river in faith and trust that the battle is the Lord’s.
Throughout the Bible, God instructs His people to go forward into dire circumstances holding onto nothing except faith in His love and strength- that He alone has the power to make us victorious against insurmountable odds, when we have faith and step forth in obedience.
The stories of crossing the Jordan and the enemy armies descending on Jehoshaphat’s kingdom both teach us that our faith in, reverence, praise and our worship for our God must go forward before our own strength. When we step forth humbly, knowing we have nothing in or of ourselves that can produce any good thing, but only through God's power and will, we give Him space to work wonders in, around and through us.
In Joshua, it was the priests who carried the Ark into the raging Jordan, while in 2 Chronicles, it seems to be regular people who went ahead, praising and worshipping in God’s strength and not their own. These people were not standing behind the armed soldiers, saying, “Go get ‘em; we’ll be praying for you.” They went out before, singing praise to the LORD. Imagine how inspiring it was for the armed men to see unarmed worshippers leading the procession into battle. These people didn’t go forward to get the spoils; they weren’t after a reward- their aim was to praise and worship God, to proclaim that His mercies endure forever.
2 Chr 20:22 tells that “when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes” against their enemies. Their old enemies destroyed each other, proving that the battle really was the Lord’s and not their own. I wonder if they realized that the enemies God wouldn’t let them destroy in the past actually helped defeat other enemies. It makes me look at the troubles that seem to linger or return to us- perhaps the torments God allows to remain in our lives are there for a future purpose to bring a greater victory. It helps me understand that the malady He doesn’t take away, the disaster He doesn’t prevent from happening, even the little problems that beset us again and again, He has purposed a plan to use these very things to deliver us and to bring Him glory.
We are blessed that as Christians, we don’t need to wait for a Joshua or a Jehaziel to embolden us- we have the Holy Spirit with us at all times to guide and encourage and give us understanding. It should be much easier with His Spirit within us, to step out in faith against our 21st century problems than it might have been to carry the heavy Ark of God into a flooding river or march toward the enemy armed only with our faith and voices. As I write this, I am encouraged that even as a “ordinary person,” I am called to proclaim Him, to sing His praise, even when I'm not sure of the next step, to keep my eyes on Him and step forth. I don’t have to wait for an army or the clergy to lead the way; as His Spirit is in us, God can use regular Christians in regular circumstances to make a real difference in this world.
Here’s the “Holy Wow” of this story: I wrote it Sunday morning before church. Church was about God using us-ordinary people- where we are, to do amazing things for His kingdom. He’s already equipped each of us; we only need the faith and trust to step forward in Him and shine His Light. The battle is His, and so is the glory.