II Chronicles 13:18 "Thus the children of Israel were subdued at that time; and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the Lord God of their fathers".
Observation:
Here I see two nations, both having their roots together in serving the Lord. Both have great history of God fighting their battles and destroying their enemies, but now Judah prevailed in battle against Israel "because they relied on the Lord God of their fathers". Victory comes through relying on God and not ourselves. Israel had a bigger and better army, but Judah humbled themselves under the mighty hand of God.
Application:
Victory comes when we fully rely on God in our lives. No matter what the battle looks like, when you are serving the Lord with all your heart, He will deliver from every enemy. The heart of the matter is in our "relying" on Him. Many times we say we rely on Him, but don't even call out to Him when we are going through a difficult situation. He wants us to express our need of Him, then He delights in bringing us the victory. We must stop relying on our selves so much and give ourselves to fully seeking God.
Prayer:
Father, I know that self-reliance is a dangerous place to be. Keep me depending on You. I love spending time with You and begin able to trust You completely and fully. You are my everything and this morning I reaffirm my need of You. I rely on You to defeat my enemies and bring victory to my family and my church.
Your Son Forever,
Jeff