October 26, 2025
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Last time we discussed fear and the Bible’s warning that what you fear is what you are worshipping. If you fear something or someone, you hold that thing or person in reverence because you effectively are declaring that it has power over your life. The Bible teaches that we should fear the Lord only.
Isaiah 8:
11 For thus the LORD spoke to me with mighty power and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,
12 “You are not to say, ‘[It is] a conspiracy!’ In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy, And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of [it.]
13 “It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, And He shall be your dread.
In verse 12, the Lord spoke to Isaiah and said we should not fear what others in the world fear. Instead, we should only fear the Lord; He should be our dread.
The Hebrew word for fear also means to hold in reverence. You hold in reverence whatever you fear, and you will worship whomever you perceive is capable of protecting you from your fears. Verse 12 tells us not to fear the conspiracy that the people are fearing, while verse 13 instructs us that only the Lord of hosts should be regarded as holy, and He should be our fear and our dread. The Hebrew word for “dread” also means to be in awe of, and to be shaken by. We need to be shaken by the Lord, and Him only!
It is easy to fall victim to fear when you listen to the news, or you listen to friends and family who have fears which amount to other gods. If you listen to the demonic spirit of fear, you will become fearful.
Today I want to talk about how to fight fear, especially when we face a clear and present danger.
King Jehoshaphat Fought Fear
The story of King Jehoshaphat in 2nd Chronicles 20 is a tremendous example of how to fight fear. Jehoshaphat became king of Judah at the early age of 35. He succeeded his father Asa as king and the Bible says he ruled by doing right in the sight of the LORD.
But the king soon was confronted with a military crisis that brought him great fear.
2nd Chronicles 20:
1 ¶ Now it came about after this that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, together with some of the Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat.
2 Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, out of Aram and behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar (that is Engedi).”
3 And Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the LORD; and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
Note in verse 3 that Jehoshaphat was afraid, but he responded to his fear by seeking the Lord and proclaiming a fast. That is a lesson for us. When the devil brings fear, turn to the Lord and worship Him instead of the things that another might fear.
The King’s leadership brought all of Judah together to seek the Lord. Note the tremendous prayer of praise that Jehoshaphat offers in the following passage.
2nd Chronicles 20:
4 So Judah gathered together to seek help from the LORD; they even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the LORD.
5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD before the new court,
6 and he said, “O LORD, the God of our fathers, art Thou not God in the heavens? And art Thou not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Thy hand so that no one can stand against Thee.
7 “Didst Thou not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before Thy people Israel, and give it to the descendants of Abraham Thy friend forever?
8 “And they lived in it, and have built Thee a sanctuary there for Thy name, saying,
9 ‘Should evil come upon us, the sword, [or] judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before Thee (for Thy name is in this house) and cry to Thee in our distress, and Thou wilt hear and deliver [us].’
10 “And now behold, the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom Thou didst not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt (they turned aside from them and did not destroy them),
11 behold [how] they are rewarding us, by coming to drive us out from Thy possession which Thou hast given us as an inheritance.
12 “O our God, wilt Thou not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on Thee.”
13 And all Judah was standing before the LORD, with their infants, their wives, and their children.
Note that Jehoshaphat’s prayer begins with praise and worship in verse 6. When you tell God who He is, you are worshipping Him. Jehoshaphat says the Lord is “…the God of our fathers…the God in the heavens…and ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations.”
In verses 7 and 8, Jehoshaphat states what the Lord has done (He drove out the inhabitants and gave the land to Abraham’s descendants forever). When you tell God what He has done, that is praise.
Finally, in verse 12 Jehoshaphat humbles himself and acknowledges they are powerless before this great multitude and do not know what to do. When he prays “…but our eyes are on Thee,” he is effectively saying we will not worship our enemies but instead we will fear (revere) You only.
Trust God with Your Fears
Jehoshaphat was trusting God with his fears. He refused to worship his fears, but instead he worshipped his God. After such a powerful prayer and worship that lifted God above Jehoshaphat’s fears, the word of the Lord came forth.
2nd Chronicles 20:
14 ¶ Then in the midst of the assembly the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph;
15 and he said, “Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.
16 ‘Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel.
17 ‘You [need] not fight in this [battle;] station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the LORD is with you.”
18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with [his] face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping the LORD.
19 And the Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel, with a very loud voice.
Do not fear or be dismayed about the opposition in your life. Whatever that opposition is – a difficult boss, a family member turned against you, an unfavorable medical prognosis, a financial problem that is pressing in – whatever it is, do not fear because the battle belongs to the Lord!
A key lesson for us in verse 17: the Lord did not say we should run from our fears, but instead we should face them. It is natural to try and avoid the things you fear, but the Lord says we should face our fears, do not deny them, do not pretend they do not exist, but instead acknowledge the Lord will fight the battle. Keep your eyes on the Lord and fear Him only.
Another key point: do not forsake the assembly because the Lord inhabits the praises of His people, and He manifests in their midst and provides specific and detailed guidance. King David, a man familiar with battles, said this:
Psalms 22:
3 Yet Thou art holy, O Thou who art enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
God inhabits the praises of His people. So, when faced with challenges and spiritual warfare, instead of fearing (worshipping) our problems, we should praise and worship the Lord, and we will soon find ourselves in His presence. In His presence comes wisdom and strategy and prosperity in all matters. That is what happened for Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah.
2nd Chronicles 20:
20 ¶ And they rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust in the LORD your God, and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed.”
21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the LORD and those who praised [Him] in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, “Give thanks to the LORD, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
22 And when they began singing and praising, the LORD set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were routed.
What’s cool here is that the people of Judah did not have to fight. This battle literally belonged to the Lord. The people just sang praises as they watched the Lord set ambushes and rout their enemies. That same principle applies to our battles today – we are to sing praises to the Lord and trust Him to defeat the spiritual forces of darkness against us.
This same type of battle will play out for us at the Second Coming, when we come with Jesus and just watch Him singlehandedly defeat the kings of the earth assembled against Him at Armageddon. The Bible says He will defeat them with the sword of His mouth, and the birds will have a feast with their fleshly remains (Revelation 19:19-21).
Fear of the Lord Brings Peace
So, we fight our fears by fearing the Lord. When we lift the Lord above our fears, we defeat and extinguish those fears and the tools of the enemy. When we fear only the Lord, it brings peace to our spirits, as it did for Jehoshaphat.
2nd Chronicles 20:
29 And the dread of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel.
30 So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God gave him rest on all sides.
31 ¶ Now Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He [was] thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. And his mother’s name [was] Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.
32 And he walked in the way of his father Asa and did not depart from it, doing right in the sight of the LORD.
What an awesome testimony to the goodness of our God! The battle belongs to the Lord, and the dread of God comes upon our enemies. The kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace because “God gave him rest on all sides.” When Jesus comes again, Israel will again have rest on all sides.
Closing
And so, in closing, the lesson from Jehoshaphat is when fear confronts us, when our enemies like sickness, disease, financial lack, and emotional strife form battle lines around us, we are to assemble and praise the Lord, worship Him, and seek His guidance and direction. He is faithful to inhabit the praises of His people. And He will fight those battles for us as we sing praises to His name. All glory to Jesus!
Let us pray.
Father God, we thank You that the battle belongs to You. Quicken us by the Holy Spirit to praise and worship You when our fears surround us. We covet the wisdom of Your guidance and strategy. We declare that You have already defeated all sickness and disease in our bodies, You have lifted all emotional distress from us, and You have prospered us in all things, as Your word promises. In Jesus’ name, we worship who You are, and we praise what You have done and are doing. Amen.
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