Have you ever felt like you were in an impossible
situation? A situation that causes you to feel trapped and totally surrounded
by negative circumstances. I have, more than once. Reality is that the majority
of us at one time or another, whether we want to admit it or not, have faced seemingly
impossible situations. And maybe some of us have even given up hope that we can
be victorious in our circumstances.
I want to tell you a story about two kings and their armies, from two different kingdoms. This story is one that the Bible tells in 2nd Chronicles 13. It takes place in a time after King David, when the great nation of Israel was separated into two kingdoms. The North Kingdom was still known as Israel and was ruled by King Jeroboam. This kingdom did not follow the ways of God. The second Kingdom was the South Kingdom, which was known as Judah. This kingdom was ruled by King Abijah, and while King Abijah was an imperfect man, this kingdom followed the ways of God and had not forsaken Him (v. 10).
These two nations were at
war. King Abijah had drawn his forces together which totaled 400,000 fighting
men, and King Jeroboam had drawn his forces together which totaled 800,000
fighting troops. I have absolutely no idea how many men make a troop, but it
doesn’t matter, King Abijah and the kingdom of Judah were vastly outnumbered.
The Bible says that King Abijah stood up on a mountain and was overlooking King
Jeroboam and his men below. But, what King Abijah did not know was that King
Jeroboam had also routed his army behind the army of Judah. King Abijah had
thought that King Jeroboam and the enemy forces lay before him when in all
reality King Abijah and his warrior men were surrounded both in front and
behind by the enemy (v.13).
At
some point Abijah and the army of Judah realized that they were trapped (v.14).
I wonder what Abijah and his men must have felt at that precise moment knowing
that not only were they outnumbered but also trapped by their enemy. I wonder
if these warrior men felt scared, and totally defeated before the battle had even
began. Looking over their circumstance, Abijah and his men realized that their
only hope for victory, was through placing their faith in the Lord their God. And
so Abijah and his warriors “cried out to the Lord” (v.14). The priests blew their
trumpets, and in unison the warrior men of Judah lifted up a battle cry. At the
sound of their battle cry, God heard them, and God interceded their hopeless
circumstance and rerouted the Israelite army before King Abijah and his
warriors. The Israelites fled before Judah, but God delivered the troops of
Israel into the hands of King Abijah and the warriors of Judah, and the men of
Israel were subdued (v-14-18).
So you
are probably wondering what the point of this story is, and why I would share
it with you. Well here it is…We all have
situations at some point in our lives that seem totally impossible. These situations
can encompass so much. They could be relationships, our health or the health of
someone we care about, decisions facing us, finances…it could be anything.
The
point is, we serve the God of the impossible. And when we cry out to God, just
like King Abijah and his warrior men did, God hears us and He acts on our
behalf. We have to remember that even though God heard the cries of King Abijah
and his army, and even though God acted on their behalf, there was still a
battle. King Abijah and his men had to move forward in their faith believing
that God would fight for them. I have a feeling it was probably hard and really
scary for these warriors to put their faith in God. I mean not only were they severely
outnumbered but they had been ambushed and trapped. In the physical, odds did
not look good for King Abijah and his men. But King Abijah and his men looked
beyond the physical, into the supernatural, and put their trust in God, that He
would win the battle for them. The Bible doesn’t say how long the battle
lasted. It could have been minutes, hours or even days. The Bible only says
that the Israelites fled BUT God delivered them into the hands of Abijah and
his army. And the story ends saying “the men of Judah were victorious because
they relied on the Lord, the God of their fathers (v.18).
This
is also true in our own personal situations and circumstances. God hears every
cry and prayer uttered from our hearts and voiced by our lips. Our cries stir God to act. Circumstances may
not seem like they change right away and the battle within our lives may seem
fierce, but God is always acting on the behalf of those who put their trust in
Him. We don’t know how long our circumstances and personal battles will last, but
when we choose to put our faith in God and follow His leading, with God’s help we
will ultimately be victorious! So I want to encourage you. That in the midst of
the circumstance that you are facing, look beyond the natural into the
supernatural and place your trust in God. Cry out to God and ask Him to
intercede on your behalf. I know it is hard, but God loves you, and He will
fight for you.
Your sister in Christ,
Ashley
