2 Maccabees 10:24-28: in context

As a great enemy army advances to take Judea by force, Judas Maccabeus and his men do not first take up their weapons. They sprinkle dirt on their heads, put on sackcloth, and fall down before the altar, imploring God to be gracious to them and to fight for them. Only after praying do they rise and take up their weapons to advance. And when the battle is joined, the account notes the difference between the two sides: the one had, besides their courage, this pledge of victory, that they had fled to the Lord for refuge; the other made their fury their leader in the fight.

The contrast the account draws is instructive: Judas and his men fled to the Lord for refuge before the battle, while the enemy made their own fury their leader. Before taking up weapons, Judas sought God first, praying, humbling himself, imploring God's help. And this, the account says, was a pledge of victory, a ground of confidence: not merely their courage, but that they had fled to the Lord for refuge. Their confidence rested on God, whom they had sought first, not on their own strength or passion. The enemy, by contrast, relied on their own fury; their confidence was in themselves. This shows the difference that seeking God first makes. When we face a challenge, a battle, a difficulty, we can rush to act in our own strength, relying on our own resolve and passion, as the enemy relied on their fury. Or we can, like Judas, seek God first, praying, humbling ourselves, taking refuge in him, and then act with the confidence that comes from having fled to God. The difference is in where our confidence rests: in ourselves and our own strength, or in God, in whom we have taken refuge. Some trust in chariots, the psalmist says, and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. Those who seek God first and take refuge in him have a surer ground of confidence than those who trust their own strength. This searches how we face our challenges. Do we rush to act in our own strength, relying on our resolve and effort, or do we seek God first, praying, humbling ourselves, taking refuge in him before we act? Judas and his men sought God first, and their confidence rested on having fled to the Lord for refuge; the enemy trusted their own fury and were defeated. This calls us to seek God first and to rest our confidence on him rather than our own strength. Judas prayed before he fought, taking refuge in God, and his ground of confidence was that he had fled to the Lord; and we too are called to seek God first when we face our challenges, praying and taking refuge in him before we act, so that our confidence rests not on our own strength and passion, which are uncertain, but on God, in whom we have taken refuge, and who is a surer ground of confidence than anything in ourselves. Let us flee to the Lord for refuge first, and act with the confidence that comes from having sought him, rather than trusting our own fury as the enemy did.

When I face a challenge or difficulty, do I rush to act in my own strength, relying on my own resolve and passion, or do I seek God first, praying and taking refuge in him before I act, and can Judas and his men, who fell before God in prayer before the battle and whose ground of confidence was that they had fled to the Lord for refuge while the enemy trusted their own fury, move me to seek God first and rest my confidence on him rather than on my own strength, which is uncertain, taking refuge in God before I act?