Then he answered and spake unto me, saying,
This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying,
Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.
Zechariah 4:6
Jesus is our protector
That does not mean we do nothing
We must listen and obey,
like Joseph did when he was given warning about the famine
Joseph prepared and saved the lives of many because of that preparation
But it was not of his strength or power
That direction was of the Lord
And Joseph listened
There are many examples where God showed His great strength
in the bible in many different situations
There is no competing against God
Some of the righteous kings like Uzziah sought the Lord
before they went forth into battle
to see if the Lord would give them the victory
And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord,
according to all that his father Amaziah did.
And he sought God in the days of Zechariah,
who had understanding in the visions of God:
and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper.
And he went forth and warred against the Philistines,
and brake down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh,
and the wall of Ashdod, and built cities about Ashdod,
and among the Philistines.
And God helped him against the Philistines,
and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gurbaal, and the Mehunims.
2 Chronicles 4-7
An important note about Uzziah,
he did not maintain his humility before the Lord
King Uzziah’s life and legacy did not end well (see 2 Chronicles 26:16-23)
even after the Lord gave him the victory several times,
Uzziah was struck by leprosy and was greatly humiliated in his last days because he trusted in his own merits
Some kings tried to pressure the prophets to tell them they would win
when the Lord specifically said they wouldn’t:
And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam,
and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam,
I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold,
thou hast altogether blessed them these three times.
Therefore now flee thou to thy place:
I thought to promote thee unto great honour;
but, lo, the Lord hath kept thee back from honour.
And Balaam said unto Balak,
Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying,
If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold,
I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord,
to do either good or bad of mine own mind;
but what the Lord saith, that will I speak? Numbers 24:10-13
And some kings sought wicked spirits:
So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not,
and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit,
to inquire of it; And inquired not of the Lord: therefore He slew him,
and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse. 1 Chronicles 10:13-14
We do not own the strength
We cannot push Jesus out of the way
or omit Him from our battles by use of our own strength,
or by claiming His power
We are bound to fail if we do that
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses:
but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. Psalm 20:7
If we trust in anything other than the Lord, we will be defeated