There are so many times when we are out in the bars that I have no idea what to do, what to say or where to go. So much is going on with the blaring music, flashing lights, girls dancing on the bars, men laughing and going crazy; it’s system overload. It can be very frustrating and discouraging because the women won’t be able to hear us very well, or other “customers” will come and they have to leave. Some nights we come back feeling totally defeated, even if some good things happened. For some reason the bad always seems to outweigh the good.
The other day during our prayer time I flipped my Bible open to a random place and started to read. It was so encouraging to me that I want to share it with you! Told in the “Alana” version…
In 2 Chronicles 20, Jehoshaphat is king of Judah and he’s just hanging out in his palace, probably getting fanned and fed grapes. Two of his men come and tell him of two, huge armies that is on their way to destroy everything. King Jehoshaphat is pretty surprised and the first thing he does, after swallowing the grapes, is call a fast for all of Judah. So all of the people gather together and seek help from the Lord. In verse 6, Jehoshaphat starts to speak to the people but what really sticks out to me is in verse 12. He says, “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 upon you.” (talking to the Lord.) Woah! We could stop there and have church, but it gets even better!
This other dude who is there, Jahaziel, gets a word from the Lord. Verse 15, check it out: “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” Skip down to verse 17. “You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.” After hearing this, all of the people fell down and worshipped the Lord.
Fast forward to the next morning. Verse 20 Jehoshaphat tells the people, “Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld.” Then before anything else, he appoints men to lead the army in worship singing, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.” And this is my favorite part! Verse 22: “As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men who were invading Judah, AND THEY WERE DEFEATED.”
So Jehoshaphat and his army have no idea yet; they are just worshipping the Lord, marching out to battle. As they get to the place that overlooks the desert, they see only dead bodies laying on the ground. What? This is real life. It goes on to say that it took them 3 days to gather the plunder and then what do they do? Verse 26 says, “they came together and praised the Lord, returning joyfully to Jerusalem because God had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies. Then the fear of God came on all of the kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought against the armies.”
I know that’s kind of a lot but it is so good! Right? I think so. I was also really encouraged because even before reading this passage and sharing with the teams who are here, we agreed to fast from the internet on the days we go out at night. Just to be able to spend all day in the word and in prayer. And every night before any teams go out we all gather together for worship and prayer. So we are doing exactly what Jehoshaphat called his people to do. All we need to do now is stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give us.
We don’t have the power to face the hundreds, and even thousands, of people on Bangla Road every night. There’s only 14 of us! There is no way, in the natural, that we could even put a dent in what’s going on there. But we will do our part and trust that the Lord has a bigger plan. I know for sure he has a bigger army and I know the end of the story…we win!
