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Casting Crowns Praise You In This Storm

Scripture

“Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” (2 Chronicles 20:15)

“On the fourth day they gathered in the Valley of Blessing, which got its name that day because the people praised and thanked the Lord there. It is still called the Valley of Blessing today.” (2 Chronicles 20:26)

Observation

To whom do my problems belong? Worry tells me that every problem is my problem. It’s up to me to face it and solve it. That’s why we get discouraged because we lock ourselves in a sealed room of fear that even shuts God out.

But faith says that my problem is in fact God’s problem. “The battle is not yours, but God’s.” I remember hearing my mother pray as I was growing up, “Lord it will be interesting to see how you solve this one.” That prayer is based on a confidence that problems are not our property, they belong to the Lord.

I like how the poet Elizabeth Cheney summed it up in her poem “Overheard in an Orchard”:

Said the Robin to the Sparrow,
“I should really like to know
Why these anxious human beings
Rush about and hurry so.”
Said the Sparrow to the Robin,
“Friend, I think that it must be
That they have no Heavenly Father
Such as cares for you and me.”

Application
Because God’s people in this story made their problem His problem they were able to change the atlas. A place that had existed on the maps for centuries under another name was changed overnight into a new name, “The Valley of Blessing.” It would be like changing a street sign after a great victory. When we let God have possession of our problems He too can make changes so great it is like changing the street directory. Our lives become totally different because we let the Lord take over.

Prayer

Father, today I make my problems, your problem. Not out an indifferent passing of the buck, but because you delight in being bothered with our difficulties as it draws our hearts together in love. Amen.