Don’t Just Do Something. Stand There

You will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the LORD’s victory. 2 Chronicles 20:17 (NLT)

In her biography, Two-Part Invention, Author Madeleine L’Engle shared that she felt so helpless when her husband was fighting cancer. “There is nothing that I, personally, can do, except be there… like most of us, I feel frustration when a situation arises where I am totally helpless, where there is nothing I can do to make anything better. I can, I hope, help Hugh a little by my presence, by the touch of my hand. But there is nothing specifically for me to do. And I think of a friend who has a coffee mug with the inscription: DON’T JUST DO SOMETHING, STAND THERE.”

This is precisely what God commanded King Jehoshaphat to do along with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Essentially, God told them, “Don’t worry. Don’t fight. Just stand there and watch me take care of the problem.” Three armies had combined forces against them. Yet God assured them victory was already in the bag. Their directive was to stand still and let God be God. Imagine if the people decided it was just too risky and opted to pick up their weapons to engage in warfare. Not only would they have disobeyed God, but they would have missed out on witnessing one tremendous jaw-dropping miracle.

That’s often my struggle; I unwittingly get in God’s way. I want to fight each battle instead of entrusting it to Him. The thing is, He’s already won the battle. I just need to step aside and let God be God.

Thought: “Don’t limit what He can do based on how you limit yourself. Be yourself, and let God be God.” – Tim Tebow