I was led by a friend to the story of King Jehoshaphat in II Chronicles 20. In this chapter King Jehoshapat finds his nation completely surrounded by enemies. They gather to pray and seek the Lord in fasting. Then a word came from a prophet, "Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's... You will not have to fight this battle. Stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you." And as the people gathered to face their enemy the next day, it says that King J appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the spendor of his holiness. As they went out at the head of the army, they sang: "Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever."
(They are going to a military battle with their arms and voices lifted high in praise to God.)
As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the enemies. When the men of Judah looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground.
They won this battle through worshiping God.
Through WORSHIP!!!
Alleluia!
That is the kind of "doing battle" I can get excited about.
Who am I kidding? That is the ONLY kind of battle I can actually DO!
As I lift my eyes up from my daily life and see God holy and lifted up, I can begin to praise Him. I cannot control my circumstances, but I can worship a holy God. He is worthy of praise ALL THE TIME. This is not just a nifty idea, entering into this worship CHANGES THINGS! It engages my will and my heart toward the holy in an act of faith and love. The battle is won! Who is it that wants me to dwell on the lousy parts of life? Who is that wants to crush and destroy me? Who is that wants me to get my eyes and heart firmly planted on a crushing situation? The Enemy steals God's worship and my peace when he distracts me from my heart's true home.
Next time I write, I'll share a simple moment in which I started to praise and worship God and the entire knot I was in unravelled.
Give thanks to the Lord for his love endures forever.
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6 comments:
Blessings upon you and your worship, Margie. We praise God for you and John and lift you in prayer daily. How good and right it is to praise God in the midst of turmoil! The Psalms have been teaching me that right now (Ps. 113).
Love,
Taryn
Thanks be to God, and thanks to you Margie for directing my eyes to Him. Again and again. Alleluia.
Martha
Thank you so much for sharing so openly with us, Margie, in this beautiful setting. This will be helpful to more people than you know.
Love from São Paulo,
Debbie Kornfield
Margie,
Blessings on you and your household as you walk in the desert. May there be streams, and may your eyes be open to see them. I am walking with you all in prayer and will eagerly drink from the streams you tell us of here.
Annie Dominguez
Margie,
I just wanted you to know that I stumbled upon your blog via a post in John's blog and I'm really encouraged and challenged by your thoughts & prayers. Thanks for sharing this journey with us.
Hugs & Prayers,
Susan (Johnston) Britton
Your blog is so inspirational. What an example of trusting the Lord in crisis. May God surround you with grace, peace and love in this time. His promises are real and he is faithful. Love, Kate (McNamara) Zwiefelhofer
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