Sunday, July 26, 2015

Turning Battles into Blessings


UV 1481/10,000 Turning Battles into Blessings
And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.
2 Chronicles 20 v 21
The laws that govern our moral and spiritual universe are hidden in the Word of God. In this uni-verse, the power of praise is revealed. Praising the Lord is a powerful weapon that can tear down strongholds. We praise God for the beauty of His character and He will show Himself strong on our behalf. Jehoshaphat, the ruler of Judah acknowledged Jehovah as the ruler of the universe. He faced overwhelming odds on all sides from enemies of his kingdom. Jehoshaphat recognized the power of praise as a weapon of spiritual warfare. He appointed singers or worshippers who went out before the army praising the Lord for the enduring quality of His mercy. When defeat and ignominy was staring Jehoshaphat in the face, praise and worship turned his battlefield into the Valley of Berachah. We too receive our greatest blessings not on the mountain top of victory but in the valley of Berachah. The Lord turns all our battlefields into the Valley of Berachah. The army of Judah did not have to fight as the enemies of Judah turned upon each other as the Lord set ambushments against them. Mount Seir, Moab and Ammon destroyed each other’s armies. The army of Jehoshaphat only had to strip their bodies and remove the spoils of war.

We too should be entranced with the beauty of holiness: the eternal quality of God’s Shekinah glory, His radiant face, His amazing love, power and grace, His eternal wisdom and understanding, His awesome ways. When we praise and worship we are taking battle position but we do not have to fight. The Lord will fight for us. He will deliver amazing victory into our hands. At the end of it, we will have the spoils of spiritual warfare: an awesome testimony, another reason to praise the Lord lifelong, a stronger faith in the Lord, a more intimate relationship with the Lord. We will praise and worship Him even more and taste more and more of victory.


Praise and worship constitutes a stairway to heaven by which the Lord descends to be involved in our situation. He will decide the strategy of battle and by what means He will deliver us. Praise and worship shackles the enemies and releases us of our own shackles. It sets us free from fears and enables us to be victorious and joyful. The Lord ‘s title being the Lord of the armies of heaven engages in spiritual warfare on our behalf and delivers us in life’s great battles. He is greater than all the combined array of forces and factors against us in each and every situation.

Prateep V Philip

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