Confession time…I find it hard sometimes to concentrate when I’m reading the Old Testament. Sure, I know all the facts and lineage details are important…but oftentimes my thoughts go haywire as I attempt to absorb what I’m supposed to learn from my reading.
As a result, I was struggling one day as I attempted to read 1st Chronicles. It was so hard for me to get much out of the fact that Ashhur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah and that Naarah bore him Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni and Haahashtari. Sorry, but if I can’t even pronounce the names...I can lose interest real fast.
So, as I sat down one morning just thrilled (tongue in cheek) to read about who bore whom, I came across these words in Chapter 5:18-22: “The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh had 44,760 men ready for military service—able-bodied men who could handle shield and sword, who could use a bow, and who were trained for battle. They waged war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish and Nodab. They were helped in fighting them, and God delivered the Hagrites and all their allies into their hands, because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in him. They seized the livestock of the Hagrites—fifty thousand camels, two hundred fifty thousand sheep and two thousand donkeys. They also took one hundred thousand people captive, and many others fell slain, because the battle was God’s. And they occupied the land until the exile.”
The reason these verses jumped out at me is because I’m currently having difficulty trusting God to take care of a concern of mine. I know He cares even more about this matter than I do, and He is more than able to handle the details, but I want to hold onto it…fretting, stewing and losing sleep. As I read these verses, I was reminded that God wants me to make sure I do what He has asked me to do…by spending time in prayer and reading His Word. Just like these men who were able-bodied and trained for battle, He expects me to make sure I am doing all I can to learn His ways. These things will help me be prepared for whatever happens in the days to come.
He then reminded me that He is the one I should call out to as I navigate these uncertain times. I need to trust Him FIRST, before He has even answered my prayers and keep in mind that in this life, the battle is His not mine. That’s often hard to even comprehend with my Type A always-want-to-be-in-control type personality. But if I fully trust Him and His ways, and remember that the battle is His…not mine…there is no reason for me to worry.
Are you holding onto something in your life that needs to be turned over to God? Are you having trouble trusting Him with every area of your life? There’s no better time than now, as we begin 2022, to start trusting as we let Him fight the battle. I’m going to give that a try this year and, believe it or not, I’m even looking forward to reading more of the Old Testament
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