Abide

And so for the past few days I have had a praise song on my lips, playing on continuous replay in my mind. When I wake in the middle of the night and feel anxious, I start singing it’s powerful words through my mind. I begin my day with it’s rhythm beating in my soul. And I’ve seen the heaviness lift. As I lift my eyes to God and choose to worship Him through the battle, I am reminded of His power, His presence, His victory. And I feel lighter.

There are many stories in the bible of the people of God going out to battle and stepping into worship before a sword was even lifted.

In 2 Chronicles 20 a vast army was coming against Jehoshaphat, Judah and Jerusalem. Jehoshaphat, unsure of what to do, prays to God. I love his prayer…he declares God’s goodness to them in the past and then says “We do not know what to do but our eyes are on You.” His eyes were fixed on God. In the midst of his struggle, He lifted his eyes to the goodness of God.

The Spirit of God then came upon Jahaziel and he prophesied that the battle was not theirs but God’s (v.15), that they needed to take up their position, stand firm and see the deliverance of the Lord (v.17) Jehoshaphat bowed down in worship to God and some of the Levites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel with a loud voice” (v.19).

As they set out for battle the following morning, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord, to praise Him for the splendor of His holiness as they went out at the head of the army saying  “Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever”. (v.21)

I love this picture. An army going out for battle being led by a bunch of worshippers! In the midst of a huge army coming against them, God’s people chose to lift their voices in praise to their God. And the outcome? The Lord set ambushes against the attacking army and they destroyed each other. (v.22-23)

There are other stories of praise going forth in the battle. The walls of Jericho falling as the Israelites shouted out to their God. Paul and Silas were praising God in jail when an earthquake opened the prison doors and loosed the chains that held them captive. (Acts 16: 23-26).

Praise lifts our eyes to God. It invites God’s presence into our battle. It exalts God in the midst of our battle. It looses the grip our circumstances hold over us and exalts God over our circumstances. It changes our hearts from anxiety and fear to hope and peace.

Worshipping God in the midst of our battle brings freedom.  It breaks the chains of bondage and causes the enemy to flee.

When we don’t know what to do, let’s be like Jehoshaphat and fix our eyes on God. Let’s send forth our worship as we step into the battle, and know that our God is faithful in fighting for us.

Blessings

Tammy