Recently I had a day when I felt a sense of sadness come over me because of a situation I couldn’t change. I tried to journal but that only helped me get in touch with the emotions I was feeling. I had no motivation to do anything, so I lay down on my bed. As I did, the thought came to me to finish the novel by Karen Kingsbury that I had been reading.
God knew how to help me with my present sadness. As I begin reading, I discovered that Katy, one of the characters in the novel, “Someday”, was also experiencing a sad and difficult time. In the midst of it, Katy discovered a forgotten bible story about Jehoshaphat that helped her.
Jehoshaphat’s Battle
The people of Judah were in big trouble. They were facing the most terrifying battle of their lives. King Jehoshaphat was afraid because a huge army was quickly approaching Jerusalem. So, he decided to ask the Lord what to do and announced a time of fasting.
As they sought the Lord, the Spirit of God moved upon a Levitical singer, Jahaziel. He began to tell the people what God had said to him, “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….Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you” (II Chronicles 20:15-17, NIV). The people immediately fell down to worship God and began to sing praises to him.
Early the next morning Jehoshaphat’s army went out. He had the singers march in front of the army, singing and praising God. As they began to sing, the Lord set ambushes against the invading army. The enemy was defeated! But the most astonishing miracle was that the enemy ended up killing each other.
The Lesson I Learned
As I continued reading the Kingsbury novel, my heart began to leap at Katy’s response, “Their victory came through praise… Praising God was an act of trust, a way of putting aside the cares and troubles of this world and looking to God above (Kingsbury, 281).
I had read this story many times, but today I needed to practice this simple action of praising God during my battle. And so I went downstairs and did just as Jehoshaphat’s army had done, I played and sang some songs of praise on the piano. As I did, God moved upon my spirit and my heart was lifted.
Yes, the Battle is Won through Praise!
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