Imagine a passenger getting on an 747 jet airliner. When the plane begins its taxi down the runway the passenger begins to flap his arms, up and down, up and down. When the plane lifts up off the ground, he flaps hard and harder. The stewardess asks “can I help you?” He replies, “no, I’m helping you!. I’m helping us fly.” The Stewardess then replies, “sir, you don’t have to do that. The plan has all the power it needs to get us safely to our destination.” But the passenger insists, “no, I have to help!” Many of us are flapping all over the place to help with every imaginable struggle in our life, when the truth is, we don’t contribute one bit to the success or progress of the mission. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is just relax under the care and sovereignty of a loving God and let Him do what he’s best at.

When Jehoshaphat was overwhelmed by a collation of three nations armies against him, he took his problem to the lord. He acknowledged God’s greatness and his own inadequacy. He asked God for help, and expressed his faith and trust in God’s provision and capabilities. He said, “we don’t know what to do, but we have looked to you for help, oh, Lord.” God said in so many words, “step back Jehoshaphat and watch me work. “The Battle is not yours, it is the Lords.” Like us flapping fools, I expect Jehoshaphat wanted to contribute to the effort, but God corrected him and said, “you won’t need to fight in this battle. Just stand strong in your places, and you will see the Lord save you.” (2 Chronicles 20:17). It was a similar charge that Moses gave the children of Israel as they faced the Red Sea on their east and the advancing Egyptian army on the west, with no where to run and nowhere to hide. In Exodus 14:13-14, Moses said, “Don’t be afraid! Stand still and you will see the LORD save you today. You will never see these Egyptians again after today. You only need to remain calm; the LORD will fight for you.”

God, the creator of the entire universe, the sustainer of all life, the manager of the galaxies, the choreographer of the stars (real stars!), is just a prayer away. Jehoshaphat worshiped God for who he was in all His glory and grandeur and then he worshipped God for what He did by delivering them from Egypt and delivering the Promised Land to them. God hasn’t changed. What are we flapping about?

Chuck
“If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31