Have you ever been there; facing down an enemy you feel helpless and ill equipped to battle?
Fortunately, Jehoshaphat immediately turns to the only One who can help, “Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him. O Lord, the God of our fathers . . . Power and might are in Your hand. . . . We are powerless before this great multitude . . . nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You. – 2 Chronicles 20:3,4,6,12
And God quickly answers their prayer by telling Jehoshaphat the battle was not Judah’s but His, and sets up an unusual battle plan. Instead of warriors leading the way, God instructed him to place the choir up front to march into battle singing praises to His name. Wouldn’t you have loved to have seen the people’s faces when they heard that plan? They were facing destruction! BUT, regardless of how Jehoshaphat felt, his actions demonstrated that he trusted God as he obeyed the Lord. Before Judah reached the battlefield, God had thrown the enemy into such confusion that they turned on one another. Israel stood still and watched the Lord come to their rescue until not one man was left standing.
I know that the last thing we often think to do when facing another battle, or even more of the same, is to begin to praise God, but when we make the decision to fix our eyes on Him, and daily give Him praise, no matter what's staring us straight in the face, we’ll begin to realize that God has already begun to release the hold our struggles can have over us.
There’s power in acknowledging that He is worthy of our worship and praise!
Praise takes our focus off us and our circumstances and puts it back on God! We're all prone to selfishness and selfcenteredness, but He desires our eyes be set firmly on Him, because that's where our true hope is found. He is worthy of our praise, no matter what we face from day to day.
Who among the gods is like you, Lord? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory working wonders? “You stretch out your right hand, and the earth swallows your enemies. In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling." Exodus 15:1-13
Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.- Deu 4:39
Praise humbles us once more. As we begin to remember God’s attributes we’re also reminded of our dependency on Him, and begin to acknowledge our need for Him.
The Lord is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap;"- Psalm 113:4-7
"For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being," declares the LORD "But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.'"- Isaiah 66:2
Praise invites His presence into our circumstances. God dwells in the praise of His people! He lives there.
“But You are holy, You who inhabit the praises of Your people.” Ps. 22:3
“Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.” -Psalms 89:15
Praise defeats the enemy and causes him to flee. It pushes back the darkness, and blocks the attacks and lies whispered to us. Evil will flee as we draw near to God. In this passage, we see God miraculously defeat the enemy, because of the people’s obedience.
“As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated” 2 Chron. 20:22
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” –Js 4:7-8a
Praise leaves no room for grumbling and complaining. Even within our prayers we can find ourselves complain about our problems at times, but though God calls us to “cast all our cares on Him” (1 Peter 5:7) we can do that remembering who He is and that He is able to save us! Praise allows us to focus on Him, and no longer allowing too much attention to be centered around the struggles. Praise helps us to remember what He has already done in our lives and strengthens our faith for the future.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.” Psa. 103:2-4
"By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name." Heb. 13:15
Through praise our spirits are refreshed and renewed in His presence. We're actually strengthened by our praise and refueled by His joy. As we focus on praising God and worshiping Him, we realize that our situations don’t have to change for our hearts to become light and full of peace and joy!
“In His presence, there is fullness of joy.” Psa. 16:11
"Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands." Psa. 63:3-4
Finally, our praises pave the way for God's power to be displayed; allowing other’s lives to be impacted and changed. I thought of Paul and Silas sitting in prison, beaten, shackled and chained, but they kept right on praising God. God sent an earthquake that shook the cells and broke the chains, and the jailer and all his family came to know Christ that very night.
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened.” Acts 16:25-26
All my bones will say, “Lord, who is like You,
Who rescues the afflicted from him who is too strong for him [to resist alone],
And the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?” - Ps 35:10
Each day we have to choose whether we will be ruled by the anxieties of the world and busyness of our lives, or to look up to Him, the One who holds it all together, and praise Him throughout our day!
