2 Chronicles 32:6b-8 (NLT) Then Hezekiah encouraged them by saying: “Be strong and courageous! Don’t be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria or his mighty army, for there is a power far greater on our side! He may have a great army, but they are merely men. We have the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles for us!” Hezekiah’s words greatly encouraged the people.

The Bible tells of the story of one of the good kings of Judah who did right in the eyes of the Lord and was therefore very successful. During a time when King Hezekiah was making a lot of things right that had been wrong for so long, such as removing pagan shrines from the land, a powerful enemy came to invade Judah. Just when King Hezekiah and the people thought that they were getting back to the right position of repenting before the Lord and working to clean out the land from their great sin, along comes an enemy to try to throw them off by distracting them and making them afraid. But King Hezekiah did not fall for it.

King Hezekiah, because He sought the Lord and reverenced Him, had a relationship with God. This relationship with the God of all creation gave him hope and much confidence in dealing with this very real and powerful threat to himself and to the people of Judah. He was so sure of God that he was not only able to stay encouraged, but had enough faith in God to encourage all the people in the land. Because of his faith in God and because he was encouraged in the Lord, he was successful in encouraging all the people to be strong and courageous in the face of King Sennacherib's great Assyrian army.

Since Hezekiah had a relationship with God and since he lived in obedience to Him, he knew that he had nothing to fear. He expressed to the people that the power that was on their side was far greater than the power of Sennacherib's entire army. He knew that this army, although very large and powerful in the eyes of men, was just made up of human beings who God had created. Because King Hezekiah had aligned himself with the God of Creation, then he knew that nothing that was created could ever come against the one who created it in the first place. Since they couldn't come against God, they couldn't come against King Hezekiah and the people of Judah because they belonged and had entrusted themselves to God. Hezekiah knew that the Lord would fight this battle for them. His solid belief in what God could and would do encouraged all the people and they were no longer afraid.

Today, we belong to Jesus, our Lord and Savior. We too have enemies that are driven by the enemy of our souls, Satan, and it is just like him to come and try to invade your territory when you are making things right between you and God. It's a ploy to make you afraid and to therefore discourage you from continuing your journey of loving and serving God. Don't fall for it. Be encouraged that the power that is with you (Christ Jesus lives in you!) is much greater than any power that is against you. When you are with God, He makes your battles His battles and there is no way that He will ever lose! Stay close to Jesus and you won't be afraid or discouraged no matter what comes your way!

Pastor Joey Vazquez