The Position You Need to Take

Message Summary:

What do you do when something in front of you feels bigger than you? You cannot fix it, you cannot control the outcome, and you do not know what to do next.

In 2 Chronicles 20, Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah faced an overwhelming army. They had already admitted their weakness and prayed, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” Then God answered.

His instructions show us how faith responds when life feels impossible.

Stand Before God

“All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord” (2 Chronicles 20:13).

Before the people of Judah stood on the battlefield, they stood in God’s presence.

They were facing a life-and-death crisis that would affect every family. Yet prayer was not their last resort. God’s presence was their first position.

Our battlefields may look different. Yours may be a doctor’s office, a kitchen table covered with bills, a difficult conversation, a struggling child, or a decision that could cost you something. Whatever the battlefield may be, our instinct is often to react before we pray, speak before we listen, and decide before we seek God.

Standing before God means allowing Him to address what is happening within us before we respond to what is happening around us. It does not mean avoiding the battle. It means refusing to enter it with fear as our commander.

God has not asked you to stand in His place. He has asked you to stand in His presence.

Step at His Word

God told Judah, “You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you” (2 Chronicles 20:17).

Although God promised to fight for them, the people still had to march toward the enemy. They had a responsibility to obey. God was responsible for everything else.

They had a responsibility to march. God had a responsibility for everything else.

To march forward in the face of such odds requires faith. But more specifically, it requires obedience. It is one thing to hear God’s Word; it is another to actually obey what God says. We love stories with miraculous endings, but we often resist the obedience that comes before the miracle.

Our obedience will be tested. Will we forgive when forgiveness feels impossible? Will we bless when we would rather curse? Will we trust God when we cannot see what He is doing?

Faith is not passive. It listens to God, accepts the position He assigns, and trusts Him with the outcome. That said, the position is clear.

Stand before God. And step at His Word.