I must confess that I am indeed a control freak. My nature and personality tend to give me that control mentality. I tend to be impatient and hate having to wait. I want to manipulate and call the shots and direct the action, instead of letting God be God. So today I'm preaching to myself and you're welcome to listen in. I’ve titled this devotional: "Don't fight; just show up!"

Do you recall the story found in 2 Chronicles 20, where Jehoshaphat was facing war with a bunch of enemies who could undoubtedly wipe him off the map?  He was a godly king of Judah, and when he realized this vast army was marching his way, he was alarmed, frightened, worried! Who wouldn't be? But as soon as he saw his predicament, he resolved to inquire of the Lord and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah (2 Chronicles 20:3).

Notice how he responded to a crisis: He resolved to inquire of the Lord. What is the first thing you do when facing an overwhelming enemy of some sort? It could be a relationship enemy or a financial enemy or a jobless enemy or a health enemy—they come in all types and sizes. Our first emotional reaction is alarm; that's to be expected. But what does that alarm cause you to do?

Often the first thing I do is to plan my fight. Whatever the problem is, I start figuring how I can win this battle. I can do this or that; I can talk to this person or that one; I can pull this string or another one. Surely there is something I can do to fix this situation—and fix it fast!  So, I start drawing up my battle plan.

Jehoshaphat knew better. He remembered to first "inquire of the Lord.” What is your mission impossible today, your impossible person, your mountain too high to climb? Have you inquired of the Lord yet for his guidance? Or are you struggling and working and fretting to come up with your own battle plan so you can solve that problem?

Sometimes you need to just stop right where you are and inquire of the Lord. That means tell him that you trust him, you believe he is smarter than you are, and you admit your ideas usually make matters worse rather than solve anything. So, instead of fighting your battle today, you're going to inquire of the Lord as to what to do. That's the first important step.

Now please note the end of Jehoshaphat’s prayer as he inquired of the Lord: For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you. (2 Chronicles 20:12).

Have you ever prayed that prayer? Many times, God doesn't move on our behalf until we come to this place where we quit maneuvering and manipulating and planning and working and admit we don't have the foggiest notion what to do and nothing we've tried so far has worked. That may be exactly what you need to do today, right now. Stop fighting and admit your own defeat.

Often, we run the gamut of our ideas before we turn it over to the Lord. For example, with a relationship problem, you may typically try all kinds of battle plans to fight that enemy. Many times, you’ve probably tried so hard to please another person to solve the problem, and you jump through all their hoops, only to discover the situation is no better.

Or you may decide to confront, get very assertive, and tell them a thing or two, and that backfires on you. Of course, there's always nagging to fall back on if you're trying to resolve a problem with another person. Sometimes you may even get vindictive and try to get your pound of flesh. You see, your battle plans—and mine—are pretty pitiful, and they'll never defeat the enemy.

Are you ready to admit defeat today with that person who is the bane of your existence right now?  Are you ready to acknowledge you have no answers, no power, no plan, and you simply do not know what to do? If so, you are poised for God to intervene and do something on your behalf.

Now, does that mean you just sit down and quit? No, as we see in this story of Jehoshaphat, he had to show up at the battlefield,