This is How I Fight My Battles

In the summer of 1940, Great Britain faced what appeared to be an overwhelming enemy. Nazi Germany had already conquered much of Europe, and now the German air force was attacking Britain from the skies.

Day after day, waves of enemy aircraft crossed the English Channel. The British people did not know whether their nation would survive. The outcome was not yet clear. The enemy was stronger, larger, and advancing.

But Britain did not surrender to fear. Pilots climbed into their aircraft and took their positions. They did not know how the battle would end, but they knew they had to stand.

On August 20, 1940—while the Battle of Britain was still underway—Winston Churchill honored those pilots with words that became famous: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”

The victory had not yet been seen, but they were already standing in the battle.

That is powerful. But when we come to 2 Chronicles 20, we find an even more surprising battle strategy. Judah was outnumbered. A vast army was coming against them. But God did not tell Jehoshaphat to put his best soldiers at the front.

He put the worshipers at the front.

The world says, “Fight with everything you have.” But God says, “The battle is not yours, but Mine.”

And that is the truth of this message: This is how I fight my battles—not by trusting in my own strength, but by seeking God, standing on His Word, and worshiping before I see the victory.

If you have your bibles, go to 2 Chronicles chapter 20.

Before I read our text this morning, I want to set up the scene for you.

Before we read the text, let me set the scene.

Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel, around the ninth century before Christ. He was not a perfect king, but he was a king who sought the Lord and worked to lead Judah back toward God.

Then, in 2 Chronicles 20, disaster arrives. Jehoshaphat receives news that a coalition army is coming against Judah. Moab, Ammon, and the people of Mount Seir have joined forces. This is not one enemy. This is multiple enemies coming from different directions.

Judah is outnumbered. The threat is real. The king is alarmed.

But Jehoshaphat’s first response is not to call for military strategy. He calls the people to seek the Lord.

He prays, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”

Then God speaks through a man named Jahaziel: “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.”

And after God speaks, the people worship.

They worship before the enemy is defeated. They worship before they see the answer. Then Jehoshaphat appoints singers to go out ahead of the army, declaring, “Give thanks to the LORD, for His love endures forever.”

As we read 2 Chronicles 20:1–22, listen for this movement:

The battle is real. The fear is real. But God is greater. And when worship rises, God fights for His people.

This is how I fight my battles.

Look at verse 1.

2 Chronicles 20:1–22 NIV

1 After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to wage war against Jehoshaphat. 2 Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi). 3 Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 4 The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him. 5 Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard 6 and said: “Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. 7 Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8 They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, 9 ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’ 10 “But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. 11 See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. 12 Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” 13 All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord. 14 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly. 15 He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. 17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’ ” 18 Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. 19 Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. 20 Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” 21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.” 22 As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.

This morning through this story of King Jehoshaphat, I want to give you 6 steps to fighting a battle.

1. When the Battle is Bigger Than You, Seek God

The closest most of us have come to a battlefield may be through a video game or around a board game table. Of course, that is nothing like a real battle—but many of us know what it feels like to be surrounded.

Think about the game Risk. The goal is to conquer territories and ultimately defeat the other players. The board is a map of the world, and every player is strategically placing armies, expanding territory, and planning their next move.

There are moments in that game when you look at the board and realize you are surrounded. An opponent is on one side, another is closing in from the other side, and your resources do not seem enough for what is coming against you. Even though it is only a game, it can feel intimidating.

That is the kind of moment Jehoshaphat faced in 2 Chronicles 20. Judah was surrounded by a coalition of enemies. The threat was real, the army was vast, and the king did not know what to do.

But when the battle was bigger than him, Jehoshaphat did not begin with panic. He began by seeking God.

2 Chronicles 20:4 NIV

4 The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.

Before Judah ever mobilized an army, they mobilized a prayer meeting.

Don’t let the size of your battle determine the size of your faith.

Just because the enemy is bigger, you must always realize that God is always bigger.

The problem may be bigger than you. Your resources may be inadequate. Your situation may feel impossible. But none of it is bigger than God.

Jeremiah 32:17 NIV

17 “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.

When the battle comes at you, do not panic. Don’t isolate yourself from everything around you. When you are in a great battle, you need others praying with you. Jehoshaphat got the entire nation praying with him.

Also don’t try to take control.

Make sure that the first thing you do is call a prayer meeting and pray. Seek God.

2. When You Don’t Know What to do, Fix Your Eyes On God.

King Jehoshaphat doesn’t begin by asking God to help him in the battle, but he takes a moment to spend some time in worship.

Look at verse 6.

2 Chronicles 20:6 NIV

6 and said: “Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.

The King is remembering who God is.

You are the God who is in Heaven. You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. You have power and might in your hand. No one is greater than you.

When you are in a battle, it is not the time to forget who the God you serve is. Remember what He did before and know that He can do it again.

So, Jehoshaphat remembers what God has done and then he admits his need.

verse 12

2 Chronicles 20:12 NIV

12 Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

Faith is not always knowing what to do. Sometimes faith is knowing where to look when you do not know what to do.

I love to plan. I like knowing where I am going. I like knowing what I am going to do next. However, there are times that you may not know the plan. It may come suddenly and unexpectedly. However, the good news is you know the God who holds the plan.

It is so important that you do not keep your eyes fixed on the army, or the diagnosis, or the bill, or the conflict, or the uncertainty. Fix your eyes on God. Don’t lose sight of who He is.

3. God’s Word Changes How You Face the Battle

After you pray, probably the most important step is what you do next. You need to make sure that you listen.

And God may not speak directly to you, but He may speak through someone else.

For this moment, God spoke through Jahaziel, a Levite from the family of Asaph, when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him.

There may be someone in this church that may speak into your life. There could be a person from another church or a christian organization. It could be a family member or a close friend.

Listen to what is being spoken, make sure that it lines up with God’s word, God will confirm it to you and then go forward with what God is telling you to do.

When you are in the midst of a battle, God will speak to you if you will wait and listen.

Isaiah 40:31 NKJV

31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Waiting on the Lord is not doing nothing. It is trusting God, renewing your strength in His presence, and moving forward in His timing.

Once they received the word from the Lord, the plan was more clear.

The enemy had not disappeared. The threat was still real. But God’s word changed Judah’s perspective: they now knew who was fighting for them.

Verse 17 says.

2 Chronicles 20:17 NIV

17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’ ”

This is not passivity. God still told them to take their position and stand firm. Trust means obeying God’s instructions while refusing to carry what belongs to Him.

Don’t get in such a big hurry that you get ahead of God. Stop, listen, and then do what God wants you to do.

Sometimes faith is not fighting harder; it is standing firm long enough to see God fight.

Have you heard the saying, work smarter not harder?

The smartest thing you can do in the middle of the battle is listen to what God is telling you to do. Don’t get ahead of God.

4. Worship Before You See the Victory

After the prayer meeting and after God speaks to them, look what it says they did.

2 Chronicles 20:18 NIV

18 Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord.

The enemy was still real. The battle was still real. Their circumstances hadn’t changed. But they still worshipped God in the middle of that battle.

They worshiped before the outcome changed. They did not praise because the victory was visible; they praised because God had spoken.

All they had was God’s Word that He would deliver them.

This is how you and I fight our battles. We’re not denying the battle, but we are declaring that God is greater than the battle.

Anybody can give praise after the battle. Any of us can worship God after things are going good. We can praise after the miracles takes place. We all do that.

Faith Praises Before the Miracle.

Worship says, “God, I do not see the victory yet, but I trust the One who does.”

This is how I fight my battles.

5. Put Praise on the Front Line

Jehoshaphat had received a word from God: “The battle is not yours, but God’s.” The next morning, Judah did not stay home. They got up early and went out toward the wilderness.

Notice: trusting God did not mean doing nothing. They still had to move. They still had to take their position. But they did not march into battle trusting their own strength.

2 Chronicles 20:21 NIV

21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.”

That is an unusual battle plan.

In a normal army, you would put your strongest soldiers at the front. You would put the warriors, the weapons, and the people most prepared to fight at the front. But Jehoshaphat put the worshipers at the front.

Why? Because their worship was a declaration of confidence. They were saying, “We are not depending on our numbers. We are not depending on our weapons. We are not depending on our ability. We are depending on the Lord.”

And what was their song.

They did not sing, “We understand everything.” They did not sing, “We know exactly how this will turn out.” They did not sing, “We are strong enough to win.”

They sang about the one thing they knew without question: God is good, and His faithful love endures forever.

Sometimes, when you are in a battle, you may not know what God is doing. You may not know how He will provide. You may not know when the answer is coming. But you can still worship because His character has not changed.

His love endures forever. His power has not weakened. His promises have not failed. His presence has not left you.

This is how we fight our battles: we put praise on the front line.

That does not mean we ignore the problem. It does not mean we pretend the pain is not real. Judah knew the enemy was real. But they refused to let the enemy have the first word.

Praise had the first word.

So let me ask you: Who is leading you into your battle?

When you wake up facing that situation, what goes ahead of you? Is it fear? Is it anxiety? Is it anger? Is it the need to control everything? Is it despair?

Because whatever leads you into the battle will shape how you fight it.

If fear leads you, you will fight from panic. If anger leads you, you will fight from bitterness. If anxiety leads you, you will fight from exhaustion. But if worship leads you, you will fight from faith.

You may walk into the same doctor’s appointment, the same financial pressure, the same difficult conversation, or the same uncertain future—but you do not have to walk in led by fear.

You can walk in saying, “Lord, I do not know how this will end, but I know You are good. I know You are faithful. I know Your love endures forever.”

Put praise on the front line.

Because this is how I fight my battles: not by trusting in myself, but by trusting in the God who goes before me.

6. As Praise Rises, God Fights

Look at what happens. Verse 22.

2 Chronicles 20:22 NIV

22 As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.

The enemies unity collapses. Their armies all turn against each other.

Judah pulls off this victory, not because they were stronger, faster, more brillant, or even had a better strategy than the enemy. They won because God fought for them.

Praise does not make God powerful—praise reminds us that He already is.

When we sing the songs of praise, it is a reminder to us about who God is. God never changes. His love is the same love that it always has been. So, when we praise Him, it is a reminder to us of who He is.

Worship is not a formula for making every problem disappear. It does not manipulate God into giving us the outcome we want. Worship places the battle back in God’s hands and it positions our hearts to trust Him.

Sometimes God changes the circumstances. Sometimes He changes us within the circumstances. But He is always worthy of worship.

Let me close this message this morning.

Look at Jehoshaphat’s prayer again in verse 12. He says…

2 Chronicles 20:12 NIV

12 Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

Maybe that is where someone is at today. This is the prayer you have prayed many times and you find yourself praying this prayer again. You are saying right now, “I don’t know what to do.”

You do not know what to do about the marriage, the finances, the medical report, the family conflict, or the future.

You may not know how the battle will end, but you can decide where you will look.

You can look at the enemy. You can look at the problem. Or you can lift your eyes to God.

Take the step this morning and finish Jehoshaphat’s prayer. Don’t stop at just, “I don’t know what to do.” Finish that prayer.

Say, “I don’t know what to do, but my eyes are on you.”

This is how I fight my battles: I seek God, I stand on His word, and I worship before I see the victory.

Sometimes the battle is not won by striving harder. Sometimes it begins to turn when God’s people stop staring at the battle and start worshiping the One who fights for them.

This is how I fight my battles.

Can you stand with me this morning?

Today, God is not asking you to pretend everything is fine. He is asking you to trust Him with what you cannot control. He is asking you to put worship on the front line—to surrender your fear, your anxiety, your anger, and your need to have all the answers.

If you are saying, “Lord, I do not know what to do, but my eyes are on You,” I want you to respond.

If you need prayer for a battle you are facing, step out from where you are and come. This altar is not a place of shame; it is a place of surrender. You are saying, “God, this battle is too big for me, but it is not too big for You.”

And if you have never placed your faith in Jesus, today is your day. The greatest battle is not only around you—it is the battle of sin that separates us from God. Jesus died on the cross and rose again so that you could be forgiven, made new, and brought into a relationship with God.

Come to Him today. Trust Him today. Surrender to Him today.

As you come, do not come focused on how big the battle is. Come focused on how great your God is.

Let this be your declaration:

“Lord, I may not see the victory yet, but I trust You. I may not know what to do, but my eyes are on You. This is how I fight my battles.”

Would you come this morning and let the prayer team pray with you?