Fighting a Large Battle?

2 Chronicles 14:9-15 tells of a battle King Asa fought against Zerah the Ethiopian. What amazes me is that Zerah brought an army of a million men and 300 chariots. It doesn't say how many men Asa had but I'm thinking it wasn't as many as Zerah brought. Can't imagine what the scene looked like from Asa's point of view. To look over the vast army of men coming towards him ready for battle.

It is at this moment where he turns towards the Lord, "Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, "Lord, there is no one besides You to help in this battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against the multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against You."' (verse 11). God came to his aid and struck the Ethiopians so they fled before him. In verse 13 it says that so many of them fell that they could not recover.

Only God, in His greatness and power could help Asa defeat such a large army. And it was Asa's obedience and trust in God that allowed God to work in his life and the life of the nation.

Zechariah 4:6 says, "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts."

Sometimes things come into our lives that we don't understand. They seem to be as large as the army Zerah brought and loom before us so greatly that we don't have the power to look beyond. They seem to crush you from every side and you are left wondering why you're experiencing these things and how can they ever be changed.

My devotional today spoke of this:

"God with power and might at His disposal yet works in this wise. His quiet performances are indirect, deep, serene, and seemingly slow, and have to be explored to be understood and appreciated. he quietly and confidently moves working wonders day after day. In everyday experiences, at work, in church, and in society, it sometimes appears as though God were being defeated, and the movements of His grace and providence were failures, and that all His plans were reversed flowing upstream in the opposite direction from the ocean of blessings. One has but to look up and cast his gaze out from the shore of frustrating encirclements of the present and consider the entire stream of God's purpose among His people in order to see that He is continually winning the battle in quiet circuitous ways.

The Lord makes his conquests by keeping His saints in utter dependence upon Him making them live by faith."

I cannot always understand,
The way God leadeth me,
The why, and when and wherefore
Is oft a mystery
But I can trust His wisdom,
I know His way is best,
His heart knows no unkindness,
And on His love I rest.

- Unknown

Krista Jones
5.14.08