Holding Ground Is a Victory
"Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord." — 2 Chronicles 20:17
Where the Enemy Aims
Satan and his forces always know exactly where to strike, and they have had thousands of years of practice on human beings. They know our natures well. And what they know best is how easily we become discouraged when we do not appear to be moving forward.
So they aim at that.
Consider the challenge one satanist threw at a believer in the middle of a long, unresolved battle: "I wouldn't say your Jesus has done such a great job. Since she left him, she's lost everything, and she has been in the hospital for almost six months, and you're about to get thrown out of here if you keep fighting for her. Use your common sense."
That taunt came straight from the demonic. And it hit uncomfortably close to where her own worried thoughts had already been for several days.
The enemy rarely invents your discouragement. He amplifies the doubt you were already entertaining.
A Battle Fought Standing Still
There is an extraordinary account in 2 Chronicles 20. Judah is facing an overwhelming coalition. Jehoshaphat sets himself to seek the Lord, and the word that comes back is this:
"Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you." (2 Chronicles 20:17)
They still had to show up. They still had to go out and take their positions. They still had to face the enemy in formation.
What they did not have to do was swing a sword.
Standing is not doing nothing. Standing is taking your position and refusing to move from it — which requires more from a person than advancing does.
What Standing Actually Costs
Anyone who has done it knows it is not the easy option.
Advancing has momentum, and momentum carries you. Standing has none. Every day you must decide again to be there.
Standing means continuing to pray after the fiftieth unanswered prayer. Continuing to love the child who is not coming back. Continuing to keep the marriage covenant with someone who has stopped keeping it. Continuing to work honestly where dishonesty is rewarded. Continuing to refuse the same temptation for the ten-thousandth time.
There is no applause for standing. Nobody testifies about it. And it may be the largest part of your assignment.
Point to Ponder
The enemy rarely invents your discouragement. He amplifies a doubt you were already entertaining.
Verse to Remember
"Set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you." — 2 Chronicles 20:17
Question to Consider
What doubt have I been quietly entertaining that the enemy has been feeding?
Today's Practice
Read 2 Chronicles 20 in full today. It is one of the most practical chapters in Scripture on this subject.
Note the sequence: Jehoshaphat is afraid, and says so. He sets himself to seek the Lord. He calls a fast. He prays a prayer that ends "we have no might... neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee." Then the word comes. Then they go out and stand. Then they worship before anything has happened.
Now identify the doubt the enemy has been feeding you. Write the exact sentence — the one that runs in your head at three in the morning. This will never change. God has forgotten. It isn't working. You're wasting your life.
Write it out in its own words.
Then find one verse that directly contradicts it, and write that underneath. Say the verse aloud every time the sentence returns this week.
You are not arguing with yourself. You are taking a position and refusing to move from it.
Prayer
Father, I am tired in a way that has nothing to do with sleep.
I have been standing in the same place for a long time and I cannot see that anything has changed. The sentence in my head says I am wasting my life, and some days I believe it.
I recognize now that this discouragement is a weapon being used against me, and that my enemy knows exactly where to aim.
So I take my position again today. Not because I feel like it — because You told me to stand and I am going to stand.
Our eyes are upon You. We have no might, and we do not know what to do. That is exactly where Jehoshaphat was when You answered him.
Hold me here until You move. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
There is no applause for standing. It may still be the largest part of your assignment.