The following meditation was written by Rev. Susan Sparks, senior minister at Madison Avenue Baptist Church (American Baptist) in New York City.
Each week, I try to make it to the gym. It’s not always easy. Some days, it’s a fight just to get out the door. But I go.
For the past year or so, there has been a woman in the locker room who sings. Sometimes humming, sometimes full-on belting out a song. It’s sweet. A little annoying, maybe. But sweet. One day last week I asked her, “What song is that you’re singing?” She smiled and said, “I have no idea. I just don’t love to work out. So, I sing myself into battle.”
Amen to that.
Every one of us is in a daily battle of some kind. Work problems. Health struggles. Family dynamics. The pressures are real. And while we know our own battles well, we rarely know what others are carrying.
The New York Times columnist Frank Bruni once wrote that if people wore sandwich boards listing their struggles, we’d move through the world with much more compassion. He shared an example of a sign a friend of his might wear: “Single parent. Child with special needs. Nowhere near enough help.”[1] What would your sign say?
We’re all fighting on multiple fronts. But we aren’t the only ones. The Bible shares story after story of people facing similar life struggles—ancient wisdom for our time. Which is why the story in 2 Chronicles 20 is such a gift. It’s a reminder that maybe we’ve been fighting all wrong.
In this three-thousand-year-old story, we find three lessons.
LESSON 1: King Jehoshaphat gets word that a vast army is headed straight for him and the people of Judah. Instead of panicking or preparing military strategy, the king does something radical: he prays. And not just a quick “Help us, God!” prayer—he prays with depth, naming God’s promises and ending with this vulnerable, faithful line: “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”[2] What if that became our mantra?
LESSON 2: Then something even more surprising happens. God’s answer to the king’s prayer doesn’t come directly to the king. God speaks from an unexpected place—a Levite in the crowd. The Levite says, “Do not be afraid. The battle is not yours, but God’s.”[3] How many battles are we fighting that were never ours to begin with? How much more peace might we find if we paused and let God take the lead?
LESSON 3: The next morning, Jehoshaphat calls out his army. But instead of soldiers, he sends singers to the front lines. That’s right—he puts the choir ahead of the infantry. As they go out to meet the enemy, they sing: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever.”[4]
They weren’t singing because they had already won. They were singing into the battle—because they trusted in the presence of God no matter the outcome.
From Paul and Silas singing in prison to spirituals sung on freedom marches, this is a deep tradition of hope. So how do we live that today? We follow these three lessons:
We pray: “I don’t know what to do, but my eyes are on you.”
We pause: “Be still. The battle is not yours.”
We praise: Even if our voice shakes. Even if we’re scared. We lead with gratitude and sing our way into the battle.
Know whatever battle you face, you are not alone. Because faith, in the end, beats fear every time.
Joy,
[1] Bruni, Frank. The Beauty of Dusk: On Vision Lost and Found. New York: Avid Reader Press, 2022, chap. 6.
[2] 2 Chronicles 20:12.
[3] 2 Chronicles 20:15.
[4] 2 Chronicles 20:21
