Dear Friend,

Have you ever tried to fight a battle that wasn’t yours to fight? To stay strong in these last days, we have to know what is and what isn’t our battle. We need to ask questions like, What am I supposed to do, and what is God supposed to do? — because He is the only one who can really change impossible situations.

Maybe you’re in a difficult situation, and if God doesn’t move, you don’t know what will happen. Then, my friend, you are in the perfect place for a miracle! You know that God is the only answer. But God wants a partner and you’re the one.

Have you ever tried to fix things yourself and it didn’t work — or things even became worse? We sometimes do that when we’re faced with battles. We try this or that, or we tell the Lord, “I can say this,” or “I can do that,” and think that will fix it. We may even suggest to Him what He should do. We try to fix the problem in our own effort, and we don’t get the results we were hoping for. So now what?

In Second Chronicles 20, Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, was threatened from enemies on every side — even “from beyond the sea” (v. 2). Although it didn’t look good for him and the land of Judah, the king knew who to turn to for the answer. “And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord” (2 Chronicles 20:3).

Jehoshaphat knew that God was the only answer. He reminded the people of Judah of the power, strength, and might that belong to the God they served. “Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the Lord” (2 Chronicles 20:13).

And the Holy Spirit responded through a prophet saying, “…Listen, all you of Judah and your inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat!” (v. 15) Notice that the first word the Spirit of God said was “listen.” And this applies to us now — our first instruction is always to listen. We are asking a question, so we need to listen for the answer.

When we listen, we have to put aside what we think. This is so necessary, because if we hold on to our plans and our opinions that didn’t work, how are we going to hear the best plan from God? We have to listen on purpose and hear the instruction from the Spirit of God.

Second Chronicles 20:15 continues, “Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude [problem], for the battle is not yours, but God’s.’” This means we need to step aside and let God move.

Whose battle is it, then, in the tests and trials of life? The truth is, we seek Him, and we believe — but He is the one who does the work. We pray and we believe, but He is the One who heals. We pray and we believe, but He is the One who provides. We pray and we believe, but He is the One who protects.

So I want to encourage you this month to pray and to believe with all that is within your power to do, but make room for the One with the greatest power of all. Put high expectancy on His ability to move and change things. See Him as the One with the power to bring change, to bring deliverance, to bring healing, to provide financial blessing, and to bring comfort and confidence to your heart so you can trust Him to fight this battle.

Are you in a particular battle right now? If you need prayer or encouragement, please call us and let us know how we can stand and pray with you. Just call us at 1-800-742-5593 or email us at prayer@renner.org. The Bible says that we can put our trust in Him and that those who trust in the Lord will never ever, ever be ashamed. Let your heart begin to rest as you see God win the battle right in front of you.

Taking ground one day at a time,

Denise Renner