{"id":1493,"date":"2024-05-15T21:11:10","date_gmt":"2024-05-16T01:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/amyandpatrickfata.com\/amyspen\/?p=1493"},"modified":"2024-05-15T21:11:11","modified_gmt":"2024-05-16T01:11:11","slug":"battle-cry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/amyandpatrickfata.com\/amyspen\/?p=1493","title":{"rendered":"Battle Cry"},"content":{"rendered":"

Patrick and I were given an Airbnb gift card last December. We are excited to get away for three whole nights soon! It\u2019s taken us six months to find space on the calendar to enjoy this gift. Our schedules have felt like a battle. The stress we\u2019ve been under is unbelievable. With summer on the horizon, we are starting to breathe again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Scripture doesn\u2019t promise us smooth sailing in this sea called life. It does, however, exhort us to be obedient to God\u2019s commands, and He promises His blessing in return. We\u2019ve definitely experienced the blessing of the Lord\u2019s sustaining hand on us during this season as we have chosen to lean into Him for strength. We could not have weathered such storms on our own. How do people survive outside of a relationship with Jesus?<\/i> We need Him every hour.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When the battle feels overwhelming, I ponder this story\u2026<\/p>\n

In 2 Chronicles 20, <\/b>the Israelites are facing a gruesome battle against their enemies and things are looking grim. Jehoshaphat cries out to the Lord in verse 6,<\/b> saying, \u201cO Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Later he prays in verse 12, \u201cO our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t you love this verse?<\/i> How often have we felt this way? \u201c<\/i>I do not know what to do, but my eyes are on You.\u201d Looking to Christ in obedient trust during a trial results in His sustaining power.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Next, the Spirit of the Lord comes upon one of the Levites who then encourages the people not to be afraid, because the Lord is indeed with them.<\/p>\n

Continuing in verses 18\u201321:
\n<\/span><\/b>Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.<\/b><\/p>\n

And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, \u201cHear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.\u201d And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say,<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cGive thanks to the Lord,
\n<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 for his steadfast love endures forever.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>These words are used as a battle cry, a song to the Lord of powerful praise. The people begin their praises before<\/i> the battle is won! This is faith! And what does God then do?<\/i> He moves against their enemies.<\/p>\n

Verse 22:
\n<\/span><\/b>And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against [their enemies]\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n

Victory is theirs, and even a great spoil is gathered!<\/p>\n

And finally, we read the following in verses 27\u201329:
\n<\/b>Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies. They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. And the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.<\/b><\/p>\n

Notice that the Israelites returned in the same manner in which they had gone out: with music, worship, and praise. May we too be willing to humbly bow in the worship of our God before<\/i> the battle, during<\/i> the battle, and after<\/i> the battle. We can \u201cgive thanks to the Lord, for His steadfast love endures!\u201d <\/b>This is our battle cry.<\/p>\n

Patrick and I have promised not to do any work during our treasured time away. The plan is to reflect, rest, and refuel. We will reflect with grateful hearts on what the Lord has brought us through in our past. We will rest in His goodness in our quiet present. And we will refuel as we feed on His promises while we plan our future with confidence, for He will be faithful in every battle that lies ahead. Our call to obedient trust is clear: \u201cWe do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Patrick and I were given an Airbnb gift card last December. We are excited to get away for three whole nights soon! It\u2019s taken us six months to find space on the calendar to enjoy this gift. Our schedules have felt like a battle. The stress we\u2019ve been under is unbelievable. With summer on the … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Battle Cry”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1494,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/amyandpatrickfata.com\/amyspen\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1493"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/amyandpatrickfata.com\/amyspen\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/amyandpatrickfata.com\/amyspen\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/amyandpatrickfata.com\/amyspen\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/amyandpatrickfata.com\/amyspen\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1493"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/amyandpatrickfata.com\/amyspen\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1495,"href":"http:\/\/amyandpatrickfata.com\/amyspen\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1493\/revisions\/1495"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/amyandpatrickfata.com\/amyspen\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/amyandpatrickfata.com\/amyspen\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/amyandpatrickfata.com\/amyspen\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/amyandpatrickfata.com\/amyspen\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}