Series: “How to Make it Through Tough Times”
Part 8
“When the Odds are Against You”
Pastor Jerry
————————————- Message Synopsis ————————————-
Wise people make calculated risks. They consider the odds first. “Is the cause worth the cost? You need to consider the odds in life. I don’t think people who play the lottery understand the odds. The odds are against you! Save your money.
Today I want us to look at what are the odds in life and how do you face them when they are against you. What do you do when you’re facing insurmountable, overwhelming problems?
One of the names of God in Hebrews is Jehovah Nissi which means “I am the God who defends you.” Literally, “I defend you when the odds are against you.”
One of the great examples of this is 2 Chronicles 20:1-30. It’s one of the powerful stories in the Bible. The story goes that three enemy nations decided to team up against Israel and go to war against them. The king of Israel at this time is Jehoshaphat. The odds are three to one.
God doesn’t put these stories in the Bible just to teach us history lessons. There are principles there that we’re to learn how to handle overwhelming odds, how to handle when you’re in a battle of life. Some of you are facing battles in life. What do you do?
STEP 1: TURN TO GOD FIRST
When you are overwhelmed you go first to God! You try to get God’s perspective on the problem. Your perspective is limited while God’s perspective is eternal. He can see past, present and future all at once. So you need to get a larger picture of what the problem really is that seems so overwhelming to you.
2 Chronicles 20 “… the armies of the Moabites and the Ammonites and the Meunites declared war on Jehoshaphat. He was afraid so he decided to ask the Lord what to do.” You can expect blessing in your life, but, you also need to expect battles in your life. You’re going to have difficult times.
Notice the king’s first reaction. It says he was afraid. That’s a normal reaction. It’s not fear that is the problem. The problem is what you do with your fear. Do you let that fear destabilize you, discourage you? Does it cause you to want to give up even before the battle starts? Never let an impossible situation intimidate you. Let it motivate you. How can the problems in my life motivate me?
Let it motivate you to trust God more, to expect more from God. Let it motivate you to depend more on God. Let it motivate you to get your priorities right and turn to God first. That’s exactly what Jehoshaphat did. He headed straight to God.
STEP 2: TALK TO GOD ABOUT YOUR SITUATION
There is no problem that is too big and too small for you to pray about. In vs. 5 it says “Then King Jehoshaphat went and stood before them and he prayed aloud.” That’s a good thing to do. Jehoshaphat gives us a model example of the three things you need to pray when you feel overwhelmed.
- I remind myself of who God is. vs. 6 “Are You not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in Your hand, and no one can withstand You.” Before I talk to God about the problem, I need to focus on God and I need to remind myself that God is bigger than the problem I am facing. With God all things are possible.
- I remind myself of what He has done in the past. I recall the times when God has helped me. vs. 7 “Didn’t You drive out those who lived in this land when Your people arrived?” He’s going all the way back to Moses and Joshua. He recalls all the ways that God has worked in the past and he’s saying, “I know who You are and I know what You’ve done in the past.”
- Ask God for help now. “O God, won’t You stop them.” His prayer is actually built around three questions: “Are You not God? Yes, Are You big enough to handle it. Yes, Will You do it again. Yes! That’s the way you need to pray when you’re overwhelmed. No matter what the situation is, remind yourself first who God is, remind yourself what He’s done, then ask God to do it again. Once you’ve done that now you’re ready to talk about your problem.
STEP 3: TELL GOD EXACTLY HOW I FEEL
Vs. 12, he says to God in his prayer, “We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us.” Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever felt powerless, like there was a problem somewhere in your life that you thought was overwhelming? There’s no way I’m going to succeed in this. Have you ever felt like that?
It doesn’t matter if I’m powerless, if God has power. If I put my trust in Him, He’ll take care of me. I don’t have to have power. You don’t either. All you have to do is trust in God who’s got all the power that you need. You don’t have it but He does. Trust Him.
STEP 4: TRUST GOD TO HELP ME
The third part of vs. 12 says this “We were powerless against this mighty army that’s about to attack us and we don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on You.” You need to trust God to help you. You need to not focus on your problems but focus on God.
This is the biggest mistake that people make when they’re overwhelmed. When we’re overwhelmed all we tend to see is the problem. We don’t look to God. It matters what you focus on. It all depends on what you have your eyes on. What are you focusing on right now? If you’re discouraged, your eyes are not on God. You know who He is and You know what He’s done and He can help you again. You do these steps!
When you do these things, notice God’s response in vs. 15 “This is what the Lord says to you: Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours but God’s!” God says, “Trust Me to help you.”
The reason why you’re so overwhelmed is because you’re trying to fight battles that belong to God. We go out and work real hard and inevitably we fail and we’re disappointed in ourselves and we say, “God, I’m so sorry.” God says, “Wait just a minute! You didn’t let Me down because you’re not holding Me up!” God holds you up; you don’t hold Him up. It’s not your battle!
In vs. 17 God says, “You’re not going to need to fight in this battle.” What? “Stand strong in your places and you will see the Lord save you.” The truth is this: It’s God’s problem; let Him solve it. You don’t have to fight. Twice in this story, vss. 15 & 17, God says “Don’t be afraid or discouraged.” Why? Because it’s God’s battle; and, God has never lost a battle.
What does God want you to do if He doesn’t want you to fight in the battle? Two words: “Stand strong.” What does it mean to stand strong? Stand firm and watch God work. Stand firm he tells us in vs. 20 “Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld. Have faith in His prophets and you will be successful.” You stand on two things: the character of God and the Word of God. Have faith!
So when you’re facing an overwhelming battle and the odds are against you, these are the Steps you need to do. The last one is this…
STEP 5: THANK GOD IN ADVANCE
Notice vs. 21 “The king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army singing to the Lord and praising Him. This is what they sang ‘Give thanks to the Lord for His faithful love endures forever.’” Jehoshaphat’s battle plan is to put a choir before the troops. There’s a very important truth here. There’s a symbolism in this. They were thanking God in advance for the victory before it even happened.
Notice what happened. Vs. 22 “At the moment they began to sing and to praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir to begin fighting among themselves. They destroyed each other.” There is power in praising. There is power in expecting. God confused the enemy and they started fighting each other. They turned on each other and destroyed themselves while the Israelites looked on. They were thanking God in advance. That is faith.
God wants to bless your life. Notice “When the surrounding kingdoms heard that the Lord Himself had fought against the enemies of Israel, the fear of God came over them. So Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was at peace, for God had given him rest on every side.”
Wouldn’t you like that to be true in your life? Living in rest and have peace on every side. How do you get there to Blessing, You take the steps we just presented, and you put your eyes on Jesus, and you allow God to solve your problems by faith. God loves to demonstrate His power to those who will just believe Him and expect Him to work in their lives. When you feel like the odds are against you? When the problems are overwhelming? What do you do? You turn and put your eyes on Jesus! You stand strong! It’s God’s battle, not yours! Have faith in the Lord your God! Give thanks to God for the victory will be won!