By Gobel Brockman
There's a story in II Chronicles 20 that has long interested me. Jehoshaphat was the king of Judah, and the Moabites, Ammonites, and Menuites had declared war against them. He immediately called the people of Judah into a time of prayer and fasting. During this time of prayer a prophet of God spoke and told them, "Do not be afraid, for the battle is not yours, but God's." Early the next morning the army of Judah marched out to meet the enemy. But what I find very interesting about this story is what Jehoshaphat did next: he ordered singers to go before the army to sing praise the Lord, singing, "Give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy endures forever." The Bible says that as they did this, the enemy armies began attacking each other until they had completely annihilated themselves. There are a couple of things that stand out to me in that story:
1) The power of worship and praise.
In John 4:24 Jesus said that "God is a spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." In that passage the original Greek word for "worship" is proskyneo and refers to reverence, making obeisance, or honoring someone of superior rank. In that same passage Jesus said that the Father was seeking those who would worship Him in this way. It's one thing to be a believer on Sunday mornings when it's church time, but it's quite another to be a "worshiper" who makes the conscious decision to surrender every aspect of their life to His will, recognizing that truly worshiping means truly submitting. It's very easy to live for God when all is well; it's quite another to still worship God when you're surrounded by chaos. But what I can tell you is that there is a sustaining power in choosing to praise and worship God regardless of present circumstances. In my life I have had times of plenty and times of need. There have been times in my life when all was well, and times when my family and I have suffered painful loss. Through it all, good times and bad, the one thing that remains constant is that God deserves my worship and my praise. In times of blessing He deserves my thankfulness. In times of need and pain He deserves my faith and my trust that He has not forsaken me.
2) The danger of worship and praise.
It isn't lost on me what Jehoshaphat did in this story - he put the worshipers on the front line of the battle. Something you and I need to always remember is that worshiping God doesn't result in floating through life care-free with a fake grin plastered on our faces. When we choose to make praise and worship a lifestyle, we are entering into a battle. A fierce, constant, "take-no-prisoners" fight that will end when our time on this earth does. The call to worship can be a dangerous place. Ephesians 6 talks about "the weapons of our warfare" for a reason. We will face opposition both in the natural realm and the spiritual. There are people who will stand against us, and spiritual forces that will do all they can to bring us down. The more we choose to worship God, the closer we will get to the front lines of battle. But here's the encouraging part: the people of Judah saw victory, and so will we. When a person makes the decision that they will praise God no matter what happens - even in the face of death - defeat cannot touch them. Even those who have been martyred for their faith through the years have known the ultimate victory with the faith that, "If I live I will worship God, and if I die I will see Him face to face. I win either way." You and I were created to worship God. We will never understand our reason for being on this earth until we understand that. We also need to understand that doing so enlists us in a life-long battle that will test the mind and try the will. John 4 goes on to say that the Father is seeking such to worship Him. The question is, are you willing to be found by Him?
If so, prepare for battle. The good news is that we can also prepare for victory. Take no prisoners.
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