Something is better than nothing. Boy, how many times have I heard that? Whether I was on a low budget and had to skip a fancy meal or I had to settle for a job that didn’t pay well. I always got to hear this phrase. Although it made me unhappy and sometimes disappointed yet I learned it anyway. So to understand this phrase I debated with my Dad for an hour realizing that God doesn’t ever leave us with nothing. He has given us everything sometimes what’s left is something but there’s never nothing.

So I scrolled through the Word. What I stumbled upon was amazing. As I was going through Jehoshaphat’s prayer I was mesmerized by the humility and desperation of the King of Judah. He talked about fixing his eyes on God, asking what to do and seeking for resolution in this time of war.

A few verses ago, three nations had decided to crush Judah by mustering a vast army. Their men were innumerable, their soldiers were highly skilled, they had better equipment, they planned their attack, everything was being done according to a strategy. They knew about the war. But Judah didn’t. They planned for a war. But Judah hadn’t. When suddenly they got so close that someone had to tell Jehoshaphat to see the vast army coming for an attack.

This moment is priceless. Why? See what happens to the entire nation of Judah. People from every town come together at the temple to pray. Everyone has one mind and one heart. Something us believers need to learn today. But that’s not my point. I’m coming there be patient. So Jehoshaphat begins to pray. The first thing he does is he acknowledges God was what He has done in the past. Reminding God a prayer that Solomon did once when he had finished building the Temple of God. All this while I can feel God knowing and smiling at His children trying to tell them, “Don’t worry. I’ve got this.”

For once I thought Jehoshaphat must be seeking an answer from God like, “They will be delivered into your hands today. Go make a plan. Create ambush.” But the surprising thing is he only said something that present day boss or a manager or a leader would say. We do know that every organization or a nation has an emergency backup plan. We all do. That’s why the phrase, “Something is better than nothing. If not plan A then plan B.”

But his ending prayer words are, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you” (2 Chronicles 20:12).

Our spiritual wars are massive. Even a small little lie what we’ve said comes from a war battling in the spiritual realms. Our attitudes itself can determine the result of our spiritual war. I could sense the desperation and humility but also strength in Jehoshaphat’s prayer to God. His faith and hope wasn’t on his army or his people or his advisers or any ally. His faith was on God. And God does the most unbelievable thing.

Those words bring courage, strength and warmth to the soul. God says, “The battle is not your’s but mine”.  You have nothing to lose. All we need to do is, “Go out and face them” (2 Chronicles 20:17).

And while the clueless king goes out with whatever he has to face the vast army, God has prepared a surprise gift for His people. He has already fought the war for them. All they had to do was take their positions.

Are we taking our positions? Or just hiding from the war. Calamities seem big, troubles seem too much to bear, life might feel like being trapped, we feel like nothing is left. But there is always something. Like Jehoshaphat’s prayer, God has already given us a reason to know He is our deliverer. God wants us to take that something and make it into everything He wants us to do. Jehoshaphat faced the  vast army with his lower quality equipment but ended up plundering his enemies. Becoming so much more richer and wealthier than them.

I know when I felt empty once, thinking that I am just left to survive. Now I’m not talking about material things. I’m talking about emotional and mental battles. Like Jehoshaphat our prayer today needs to have desperation, humility and faith. To be open and say, “Lord, I don’t know what to do but my eyes are on you.” Let’s see circumstances being delivered to us without us fighting them. Like Jehoshaphat saw his enemies already dead before they could even raise a sword.

So this must strengthen us today, that God never leaves us with nothing, there’s always something to fight with. Our resources and time are exactly the right amount to face challenges and obstacles. Something is definitely better than nothing.