Feeling defeated? Praise may be the answer you need.

 

IT’S WORTH CONSIDERING

PRAISE PRECEDES VICTORY

One of my favorite Old Testament stories of victory is found in 2 Chronicles 20. Judah was facing a great multitude who had come against them, but God told King Jehoshaphat to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. God was about to vividly show that the battle belonged to Him. Judah’s army was to sing and offer praises to God. That exactly what they did and God routed the enemy.

When King David led the procession bringing the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem, he praised God with all his strength (2 Sam. 6:12-23). Being pleased with David’s praise, God’s presence remained in David’s kingdom and He granted him victory over every enemy

 As Jesus was about to go to Gethsemane and then the cross, He led His disciples in singing a hymn. Jesus’ greatest battle would result in the greatest victory of all time and it began with a hymn of praise to God. How could Jesus praise God when He was about to enter an unimaginable horror? Because He looked beyond the battle to the victory.

AS I SEE IT

The times when we need to praise God the most are the times when we least feel like it. We let our circumstances take center stage and that’s all we think about. It is then that we must realize that praise isn’t rooted in our circumstances of the moment. Our praise must be rooted in the promises of God. It is in our most difficult circumstances that we must see them from God’s perspective so we can see beyond them to what lies beyond. If God truly causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28), then He will use your circumstances to bring victory into your life.

Once we readjust our focus, our responsibility is to enter into a protracted time of praise. Since God inhabits the praises of His people, then He is present whenever there is praise. It follows that if God is there, Satan is not. God’s presence will banish Satan, the one who is trying to defeat you. King Jehoshaphat, David, and Jesus experienced victory because their praises brought God into the middle of their circumstances.

Our trials do not alter the fact that believers in Jesus Christ have become temples of God. The second person of the Trinity, Jesus, lives within us. He’s not alongside to help us. He is within us, but we must submit to His lordship if His power is to be released in us. If we have determined to walk in the Spirit, letting Jesus live His life through us, the best way to let Him secure the victory in our current trial is through praise.

The same praise that procured God’s presence in the Old Testament, releases the power of the life of Christ in us in the New Testament. Indeed, praise precedes victory.

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