1 Chronicles 5

1Ch 5:22 for many fell dead, because the war was God's. And they dwelt in their place until the captivity.

1Ch 5:25-26 And they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers, and played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. (26) So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, that is, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. He carried the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into captivity. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan to this day.

God is in control. This tends to be a fact we easily blurb out when things are going okay. It is easy to remind someone that God is in control when they are going through a hard time. However, this becomes an entirely new thing when we consider it in our own lives. When the hard times come, do I live as if God is in control?

In our first verse we read that the war was God’s. I cannot tell you how many battles and wars I have fought through over the years, without realizing this fact. The war is much more toilsome when I get in the way and try to make it about me. I end up getting hurt. I take the beating. Should I win the war, it never feels as good as I think. Of course, the scars from the battles last a life time. The take their effect in my life and to this day, pops up as reminder of previous battles.

I am sure some of you feel the same way. You have tried to take matters into your own hands and therefore it is you that gets hurt. Remember, the battle belongs to the Lord. Observe what happened to Manasseh when they fell away from the Lord. God allowed outside circumstances to have their way with this tribe. Manasseh might have cried out, “Why?” God allowed this to happen to cure Manasseh and create a people that would serve Him. Instead of taking the battles into your own hands today, check and ask the Lord what His plan is through these battles. Give the battle to Him and rest. God’s will will be done, so stop fighting against Him and join Him.