Can You Praise God in the Midst of Your Battles?

Yes You Can!

I always have good questions to ask. Can you answer them from the heart? Before you leave this blog today, you’ll have your answer.

Yesterday we talked about contentment. What is it? Do you remember? I received this a few days ago from Impact Daily Bible Passages, and I thought that I might share it with you today in the light of this topic: contentment.

“The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.” – Genesis 39:2 New King James

Someone asked a dedicated Christian woman, “What is the secret of your being able to influence so many people?” She responded, “When you have contentment in your life others are attracted to you. The secret of contentment is to put Christ in the center everywhere you go. When you are promoted and when you are demoted.

Remember Joseph, He was always in the center of God’s will, even when he was abused by others. He did not let his position or lack of position in life keep him from being in his proper place. Because he kept God in the center, he always had the best seat in the house.”

Wow, this is an excellent example of contentment. Did you make a decision yesterday? I hope you did. It will make your life much happier; the life that Jesus died and paid for on your behalf. It belongs to you. Receive it today, if you did not!

“Fear thou not: for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness” – Isaiah 41:10 KJV

Sometimes Fear grips people’s hearts and stops them from praising and worshipping God.

If God is with you, why are you so fearful? God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).

Fear is the number one enemy to everyone. It prevents you from doing God’s perfect will for your life, and Satan’s most common tool, making it “public enemy number one.”

Here is what Don’s Gossett states in his book, “Praise Avenue:”
“There are all kinds of fears. Just as cars come in a multitude of colors, makes, and models, so does fear come in an infinite variety of forms and intensities? No matter what its form though, fear can be successfully dispelled through praising God.”

If you are already in bondage to some fears, Jesus can and will deliver you today! Trust Him!

Let’s read 2 Chronicles 20:1-19. These scriptures tell us a story about King Jehoshaphat who led the children of Israel in a battle of praise:

“It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.

2 Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi.

3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.”
What did Jehoshaphat do? If you do not know, I have underlined it for you. He decided to ask the Lord what He thought should be done. As he gathered all of Judah and Jerusalem before the new court, He declared how great God had been to them. Continue to Read verse 4:

“4 And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.

5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court,

6 And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?

7 Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?

8 And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying,

9 If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.

10 And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not;

11 Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.

12 O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.

13 And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.

14 Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation;”
What just happened in verse 14? The answer to Jehoshaphat’s prayer came through prophet Jahaziel. Continue!

“15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”
Did you catch that? The first words out of the prophet’s mouth were “Be not afraid nor dismayed…” The Father knows that the greatest enemy to the children of Israel was not the “ITES” – Moabites & Ammonites. It was FEAR! What did the Lord say about the battle? Let’s read verses 16-19 for the ending of the story:

“16 To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.

17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.

18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.

19 And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high.”

The Lord continued with His message by telling the children of Israel and King Jehoshaphat that the battle was not theirs, but in fact His. God will help them to win this battle.

What was the reaction of the people? Look at verse 19, “And the Levites….stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high”.

If you read a little further, you will see in verse 21, King Jehoshaphat “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 forever.”

Did you see what you must do, right now? King Jehoshaphat and the children of Israel were scared, when they were surrounded by hostile armies bent on destroying them. However, God had other plans. To get the children of Israel to praise Him in the midst of their fear and they did!

This is my favorite scripture in this whole story, verse 30:

“So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about.”

You can have this same contentment when you praise the Lord. You can have your angels encamped all around you in peace and comfort. Knowing that the battle is not yours, but God’s. The people in this story believed God, and sent out praises. You too can send out praises in the midst of your battle, and the Lord will confuse your enemies, and they will destroy themselves.

O Hallelujah!

How great is our God?

Can you now praise Him now in the midst of your battles? If this story did not improve your vision, I do not know what to say to you? Please go back and read all my previous blog pages on what praise is, so that you can get better understanding on this word – “PRAISE!” Then you will be illuminated to the fact that there is power in praise!

When God delivers us from something which we fear, we should always give Him the glory, honor, and praise for what He has done for us.

This is one of the ways to live content, just like Joseph! Praise Him and keep Him in the center of everything you do. Amen.

Until next time, continue to be blessed and Praise the Lord!