2 Chronicles 2:21
“And when he consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and said: “Praise the Lord, For His mercy endures forever.”
Jehoshaphat was a “good” king of Israel. He obeyed the Lord in most things. The Lord gave him success but he was faced with impossible odds and a nasty reality of an enemy that is too powerful for him to overcome with the resources he has. Then Father speaks through a profit and says “Do not be afraid or dismayed because I will fight for you”.
Jehoshaphat organizes the people and puts the praise and worship team in front of the army to face the enemy. Then a remarkable thing happens, Father sets ambushes for the enemy and delivers His children. They didn’t even have to fight! This is exactly how we must face our enemies.
Fear is overcome by prophetic praise. Praising the Father for something we possess now is good, but honoring the Father for deliverance before we see it shows our faith and confidence in His Word.
That type of agreement with the Word of the Lord and using our Christ-given authority route fear and destroy the enemy’s carefully laid out deceptions. The cut-off withering branch is always employing fear to try and keep us from attaining our God-given victories.
Worst-case scenario thinking floods in when we are poised to take over enemy territory. When his attacks escalate we can fight back with praises. If we can add great vision and expectations to our praises we will see Father set ambushes against our adversaries and destroy the works of darkness in our sphere of influence.
The only thing that King Jehoshaphat left undone was to tear down the high places of false worship. We can tear down the alters of wrong thinking and agreement with darkness by taking thoughts captive and moving forward with praise no matter what we see or how we feel. We need to strictly enforce our belief system and condemn all false humility like the “I’m a sinner” mentality.
Banishing religion from our relationship with our Father and praising Him through every storm for His certain delivery annihilates fear and its lowly pals worry and anxiety. Fear is no longer a part of who we are. We are new creations strong and mighty and powerful to the pulling down of strongholds. Hallelujah!
For further reflection on how to reclaim your God-given identity and authority amidst the pressures of this world, consider reading Finding Our Way Home: Reclaiming the Kingdom in Post-Evangelical America. This book challenges us to return to the simplicity and power of the Gospel, helping us navigate the spiritual battles we face and find our way back to the Kingdom principles that truly matter.
Father, I am truly grateful for Your amazing grace and mercy. You are truly worthy to be praised continuously. I am thankful for my new creation identity. I will face impossible odds with confidence and boldly praise You before I see Your deliverance.
I know that You are for me and not against me. I know that You have made me the head and not the tail. I know that You have placed my feet on solid ground and placed a hymn of praise in my mouth. Fear is no longer a part of who I am. I will take every thought that presents itself against the knowledge of God and slay it with truth. I’m extremely grateful. I love You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.