BATTLE CRY

“Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever. Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever. Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever.”

            This is the way King Jehoshaphat led his army against vast armies of Moabites and Ammonites and some other ‘ites’ that were invading the land of Judah. When Jehoshaphat first heard of the impending invasion, he was “alarmed” according to the story recorded in 2 Chronicles 20. He henceforth “resolved to inquire of the LORD”, and he proclaimed a fast for all of Judah, and the people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD. Jehoshaphat then prayed to God, crying out in distress and asking God for guidance and help. The prayer is recorded in verses 6 through 12.  

            As the people waited and prayed, a prophet told the king, “Listen King Jehoshaphat and all the people who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow march down against them. … Take your positions and stand firm, and see the deliverance the LORD will give you. ... Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out and face them tomorrow and the LORD will be with you.’”

            Then the king and the people rejoiced and sang of God’s enduring love, and they marched out to battle. “As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab… who were invading, and they were defeated.” (v. 22)

            This is a story that suggests a process and also promises a victory when fighting a battle against forces opposed to God.

            Two weekends ago, our church in Michigan, Prayer and Praise Assembly of God, proclaimed a time a prayer and fasting in a fight against the cancers attacking Robert and our son-in-law Justin. The event was called “Battle Cry.” We were not there, but we heard reports of the praise and worship, the prayers for our family, the attacks in the spirit upon cancer in Mason County as well as against the tumors in Robert’s body and the lesions in Justin’s body. There were prophetic words that reaffirmed that which we have heard from God. As we also prayed in Washington, we were encouraged.

            Looking at the symptoms currently showing in Robert’s body is not all that encouraging, however. To date, the seen has not offered one bit of encouragement as tumors continue to pop up in different parts of Robert’s body, and his pain increases. Medical intervention has not so far led to one speck of improvement nor offered anything in the way of a hope for healing. The best we can expect is that tumor growth might slow and possibly give a few more months of life. Even this hope of slowed tumor growth, we have not seen.

            Our only real hope with this disease, malignant melanoma, is the promise of an unseen God. There, I’ve said it. I’ve named the enemy, a vast army of tumors bent on destroying my husband’s body. I have assessed the situation. I am alarmed. We have prayed and fasted. We have received prophetic words. And we are waiting for it to be done in Robert’s body according to the word of God. We are waiting for the seen to align with the promises in the word of God.

            This all brings to my mind a different cry, far from a battlefield. It is my cry to my father in heaven, my Abba, which means daddy. It brings to mind my earthly father, who died in 2001 six months after being diagnosed with colon cancer. He was my fixer for most of my life until I got married and sometimes even after that if Robert was too busy to jump right on it.  When I needed a contact lens retrieved after washing it down the drain, he was the one to call to unscrew the pipe to get the lens out of the drain trap. If I needed a wobbly shelf to be reattached to the wall, I’d call my daddy. If one of my old oak chairs became rickety, he was the one with the skill and patience to fix it with glue and clamps.

            So now I cry out to my Father God, Abba/Daddy. My Father in heaven is named among other hallowed names, Jehovah Rapha - the LORD our healer or physician. I call out to my Abba:

I know that it is your will to heal Robert if for no other reason than it is your name! I know you are the perfect father more able and willing than my earthly father even to give me good gifts when I ask. I know that you are not a God that could ever lie, and your word and your promises are true and settled in heaven.  Let it be on earth as it is in heaven, where there is no cancer.

Abba, please fix my Robert.