Today's Passage:  2 Chronicles 13-14

A quick comparison...

          Israel (Jeroboam)                                                     Judah (Abijah)

          800,000 man army                                             400,000 man army

          worshiped golden calves                                          worshiped God

          ambushed Judah                                                     cried out to God

          500,000 men died                                  God intervened in the battle

          Jeroboam struck down and died                    Abijah grew in strength

The odds were stacked against Judah in this classic underdog story.  Abijah had half the number of men fighting for him that Jeroboam did.  Abijah's army was ambushed by Jeroboam's in a sneak attack.  And yet, Judah emerged victorious.  Scripture contains many examples of just how powerful God is.  We can read story after story of the amazing things that God has done and how mightily He works...and this passage is no exception. 

I love the part in this story that says, "At the sound of their battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah."  When Judah's army realized they were being attacked, the instinct was to cry out to God.  And it was at this sound that God worked.  We KNOW that God is powerful.  We KNOW that God can do anything.  And we KNOW that God loves us.  And yet, we so often try to fight our own battles.  Whether the battle is against stress, people in our lives, depression, or sin...God CAN deliver us from them, even when the odds are stacked against you.  What do you need to cry out to God about.  He will hear you and He desires that we give these things to Him.  The word "surrender" often carries a negative connotation, implying weakness.  But when we surrender everything to God, that is when we can experience the most power.  Abijah's army was surrendered to God...and God did mighty things through them.