Let Go and Let God

Introduction

In life, there are situations that we go through. We all have adversity in life. It is always something that we face and will face. Us teenagers today face all types of adversity. Peer pressure, bullying, mental health issues, being antisocial, substance abuse, family issues, etc. I had a friend who came to me a month ago, and told me that he was having problems with his mom.

The thing about adversity is it is hard and we can’t run for it, but it is something that we can overcome, and we can overcome these things by doing this: letting go and letting God. There are some problems that seem big and impossible and complicated to us, but God is bigger than anything. 1 John 4:4 tells us “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.“ This means that God is greater and bigger than any problem that we come up against. And because of this, sometimes we just have to let Go and let God. Sometimes we just have to let go and let God handle it, and that is exactly what Jehosephat did.

Text Context

In the book of 2 Chronicles 20, Ezra writes to the people of Jerusalem. In this chapter, we are introduced to a man named Jehosephat.

See, Jehosephat was king of Judah. He was king after his father, Asa, who was king for 41 years. Jehosephat was a good man. The Lord was with Jehosephat, because he followed the ways of his father before him. He did not even pay attention to false gods and idols. He followed God and followed his commands. His heart was deep in the ways of God. Jehosephat was wealthy. He appointed judges. Basically, it seemed like Jehosephat was him.

But, in these few verses today, we see that these two groups: The Moabites and the Amenities, declared war against Jehosephat.

EX: Let’s pause for a moment. Jehosephat was wealthy, he was a great king, he followed the Lord, he didn’t serve any other Gods, but despite all of this, these two groups declared war on him. He was a good man, but he still had to overcome this challenge. You can be and do everything. You can have good grades, be in a good position at your job, be apart of all the extra curricular activities, have the flyest shoes and clothes, but there will still be challenges and adversity that we have to overcome. I said at St. Rest Baptist Church in October that even though we have victory through Jesus, we still face adversity, why….because we’re still humans. We’re not perfect. We still face challenges and have to overcome them.

And this is what Jehosephat had to do. He had to overcome this challenge. After these groups declared war against Jehosephat, some people came to him and told him that an army was coming after him. Jehosephat was alarmed. So alarmed, that he needed to get the Lord involved. He declared a fast for all of Judah. All the people of Judah got involved to get the Lord involved. Everyone from all parts of Judah looked to the Lord for his help. In verses 7-12, Jehosephat stood up and talked to the Lord. And the people of Judah stood and talked to the Lord as well. But then, the spirit of the Lord came upon them. And this is where we are now…in verses 15-17.

Through this part in this story, Ezra gives us a method on how to deal with those situations that we can’t handle. There are challenges and situations that happen that we don’t really know how to handle. Sometimes we get stressed. We face academic stress. That’s when the work and pressure of school work, and home just piles up on us. And it becomes overwhelming. But the good news is that we are not alone. God is in our corner. You have to involve God into your situation. Even when you feel like you can’t talk to anyone else, because they don’t get it. When we don’t talk to God about our problems, we let our problems consume us. We can become bitter, mean, and angry. There are some people who let their problems consume them so much that they become addicted to substances, become antisocial, turn to harming ourselves. But when nobody else gets us or understands us, it is God who knows us. We can’t hide anything from him. Jehosephat did not know how to handle the fact that he was going to go to war, so he did the one thing he could do, which was go to God. That proves that when we go to God and tell him about everything that is happening, he is ready to step into our situation to help us. All I’m trying to tell you is that there is someone in our corner, and he is willing to help. So that means that sometimes, we have to let go and let God. And for a few minutes, I want to elaborate on that.

Body of Message

I want to go over the steps on how to tag out and tag God in.

Understand that the battle is not ours.(v 15)

Verse 15 says “He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”

When people say that the battle isn’t ours, but it's the Lord’s, they mean that every challenge we face is in God’s hands. Understanding that the battle is not ours means letting go and letting God do what he does.

EX: Sometimes, when it seems a situation is impossible or too overwhelming, we may be tempted to doubt. We may doubt our own abilities. We doubt that we can handle any problem because it’s too hard or too big, but we have to remember that God is greater than any problem. Exodus 14:14 says, “The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” He has promised to take care of us, make good plans for us, and love us unconditionally.

But with this, we ask the question “why?”.

If we are so strong and courageous, then why does God fight our battles? The battle is not ours to fight because God loves us that much. In times of hardship and struggle, we can get scared. “How will I get through this?” “How will I get pass this?” But we are reminded that God is always with us and will fight our battles. God is basically saying that he is so strong and loves us so much, that he will fight our battles. Psalms 23:1 tells us “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” This means that we do not have to worry or fear because God fights our battles and is there to take care of us and our needs. That is why we shouldn’t be afraid, be anxious, be discouraged, because God will fight our battles.

Know that God will be with us.(v. 17)

Verse 17 says “But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the Lord’s victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the Lord is with you!”

This is an incredible promise from God himself. He promised Joshua this. He tells this to us in Isaiah 41:10. Isaiah even says. This is a great promise. That whatever we face and go through, the Lord will be with us.

God is with us all the time. He comforts us in challenging times. He encourages us. He loves us. And with him being with us, this means that we are never alone. Even in our darkest times, he is with us. We can trust that no matter what might come our way, he will keep us safe.

See God is omnipresent. This means that God is everywhere at one time. He is with us. He lives within us. He is with us at school. At home. He walks with us, he talks with us, and he tells us that we are his own.

That’s why Jehoshaphat prayed. He knew that the Lord was with him. He knew that he had someone in his corner. That’s why he prayed.

EX: On Thursday, Shreve had midterms. I had Drama and English. In English, we had different sections of questions with different passages, and I read this particular passage about a lady who had a very important obligation. She needed to go to a certain place, but then suddenly, she was blocked by this tall man. This man stood as a symbol of adversity. The first thing she did was ask politely for the man to move, but he didn’t. The second thing she did was demand that he move, but he didn’t. She got mad, so the third thing she did was scream, shout, curse, and holler, and all the man did was laugh at her, and he still did not move. After all of that, she went to her last resort, which was begging. She begged for the man to leave, but he still did not. So finally, after all of the screaming, shouting, and begging, she finally picked up her stuff, and just walked right through the man. See, when it comes to our challenges, obstacles, and adversity, we do a lot of screaming, shouting, and begging, because we’re mad and frustrated, but when you know that God is on your side, when you know that all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose, when you know that you can do all things through Christ, who gives you strength, you can just walk through. I need about 4 or 5 people who can testify if it had not been for the Lord on my side, I don’t know what I would do, but since he is, I don’t have to be mad mad or frustrated at my problems, I can just walk through.

And because God is with us, we know that we will never be separated from his love, his peace, his promises, and his presence. Even though we may be scared; some of us are scared and frustrated with these Midterms, but we already know that God has promised us that he will never leave us nor forsake us. He promised us that nothing will ever separate us from the love of God in Christ. So embrace the fact that God loves you, God cares for you, God is with you and for you.bfh

Stand still and watch the Lord win.(v. 17)

When the text says “stand still”, it means to take a firm position in faith. That means that we have to be still, have faith, and know that God will win in the end. Psalms 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God!” This means that we have to just stand still and know that whatever obstacle we are faced against, the outcome will always be the same: GOD WILL WIN! And we oughta be glad about this, that whatever challenge it is, GOD WILL WIN! We oughta hope in him because he loves us. You don’t have to be afraid or be discouraged even when you feel overwhelmed by some things that seen bigger. We have to remember, the battle is not yours, it is the Lord’s.

EX: I know Midterms are hard. I know the assignment may be challenging. I know that the stress of school work piles on you. I know you anxious about your grades, but all you have to do is stand still and watch God win.

Here it is though: Notice on the text, God still orders Jehosephat and the people of Judah out to battle. Why is this?........I mean they were told that the battle is not theirs and that God would be with them, but why did God still send them out to battles? gn

The answer: Even though they were sent to battle, they were told to remember the Lord was fighting for them and was going to be with them and turn the tables.

And when you really think about it, that’s just a demonstration of God’s power. You may think that because the problem is big and complicated, you won’t make it, you won’t get out of it, but you oughta look at all your adversity, and say these words: YOU THOUGHT! The devil thought he was going to get rid of your courage, thought you were going to give up, thought you were going to stop pushing, but God turned the tables.

All we have to do is let go and let God. We have to stand still and watch the Lord win. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. And when we stand still, we will see the the Lord will win.

Conclusion

To let go and let God, all we have to do is understand that the battle is not ours. That means that we have to understand that every challenge that we face is in God’s hands. We then have to know that God is with us. And that means that we don’t have to be afraid or discouraged, because God will be with us in every and all situations. We then have to stand still and watch the Lord win. This basically means that we have to just stand back, keep the faith, and watch God turn the tables. That’s how you let go and let God.