A vast army approached Judah’s frail and flimsy door,
They numbered more than the sand on the ocean’s shore.
Judah’s doom for sure was certain, by a worldly view,
But now we’ll see what God in His great power can do.
King Jehoshaphat, He knew just exactly what to say,
He inquired of God Almighty, the man he went to pray.
“Help us Lord please, we know not what to do,
But by our faith in your grace, our eyes are upon you.”
All the men of Judah, wives, and little ones,
Stood before the Lord in faith, they did not think to run.
Then Jahaziel, the prophet, declared God’s Holy Word,
“Do not be afraid for victory is assured.
Go and face this army, you children of the King,
For God He will be with you and victory He will bring.”
Jehoshaphat, he humbly bowed his face upon the ground;
And all the folks of Judah in worship they fell down.
Early in the morning they marched out to face their foe,
And leading their small army, their praise team was first to go.
“Oh give thanks unto the Lord, His Love endures forever,”
What a test of their faith, it was right now or never.
The Lord, He put confusion in each mind of this vast horde,
They killed their very brothers with spear and with the sword.
The men of Judah plundered this battlefield of death,
Their enemy had killed each other till not a man was left.
It took three days of gathering the wealth of all their booty;
And weapons didn’t win this war, but faith their call to duty.
They all went home rejoicing, ‘cause they passed this test of faith,
For God’s own hand delivered them by His Love and grace.
So, what about you, pilgrim, do vast troubles vex your soul,
Does it feel like Satan’s armies have you in their hold?
Call to Christ for help He loves His children oh so much,
And He will surely rescue you with His Almighty touch.
Praise Him before the battle starts when it is but a threat,
For victory is for us assured when Jesus we do bet.
Thank Him for the plunder in faith our eyes perceive,
And from our Savior Jesus Christ great joy we shall receive.
When we see great troubles, without an ounce of hope,
God sees the big picture with His omnipresent scope.
Sorrow turns to gladness and fear to greatest praise,
Even death cannot bring us down for Jesus will us raise.
Sometimes it does just seem my greatest foe is me,
But He has promised when I see Him, just like Him I will be.
Tertius
Our God, will you not judge them?
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 on you.
2 Chronicles 20:12
A note about “When Insurmountable Odds”: One of my most favorite stories from the Old Testament, 2 Chronicles, chapter 20. In 1 Chronicles 21, King David angered God by taking a census of able fighting men. When given a choice of suffering from God’s hand or suffering from the hand of men, David chose God’s direct wrath, “for His mercy is great.” You might find food in a famine, refuge when a tornado or hurricane rolls through. But nothing is more frightening than an invading army. Rape, destruction, torture and every atrocity before they finally kill you. The most fearful of circumstances and even more daunting is the fact that the Judeans were desperately outnumbered. So many lessons in this short passage. About faith, about praise, about keeping our eyes on God, about trusting His Word (in the story His prophet) about getting up off our duff and facing our foe, about watching God’s power do what we cannot possibly ever do, about free booty. About how the bleakest circumstance can result in the most spectacular victory. Very much like the execution of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The worst thing the disciples could ever imagine happened to be the very best thing that ever happened to all mankind. The Awesome Creator, Sustainer, God of this story of long ago is our same God of right now today, this minute. Wrap your faith around that!