God's Battle Plan

We beg and plead. We pray and fast.

We would rather die than admit it, but despite all our showy attempts to connect with God in the midst of a personal war, we're still as weak as newborn kittens.

What's wrong? Where is the power of God? Why are we still gripped with fear, faint with worry, and terrified of what's ahead?

We've done all we know to do and it seems that God has lost interest in our affairs.
That's when many lose interest in Him.

But there is a principle sprinkled liberally throughout scripture that is often greatly overlooked. We ignore it to our peril.

In these 3 illustrations, see if you can find the secret.

In 2 Kings 3:15, an evil king had come to the prophet Elisha to seek advice. This man was so repulsive to Elisha that he could hardly stand to be in his presence. He could not hear from God in his emotional distress, but he knew what to do.

"But now bring me a minstrel,” he said. "And it came about, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him."

Did you see it? The secret is buried in there.

When King Saul had gotten too big for his britches, pride took over and the power of God left him. The Bible calls it "an evil spirit from the Lord." (I Sam. 16) The only thing that calmed him was when David played upon his harp. Verse 23 says that "Saul would be refreshed and be well, and the evil spirit would depart from him."

Okay, keep going...

When King Jehoshaphat was told that a great army was coming against the nation of Israel, he was rightly concerned. They were outnumbered, outfoxed, and under-equipped. But the Lord reminded him, "The battle is not yours, it is the Lord's." (2 Chron. 20:15)

Rather than order bigger tanks, more grenades, and fancy soldiers, Jehoshaphat listened and believed the Lord. "You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf." (v.17)

Now, notice his odd battle plan: "He appointed those who sang to the LORD and those who praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, 'Give thanks to the LORD, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.'” (v.21)

Do you see the theme?

The key to spiritual power, the key to God's heart, is musical worship.

But don't we try everything else?

When we're down, locked in panic mode, engulfed in depression or fear, we want to do everything else but worship. We cry and pray, pound heaven's gates with closed fists, pay extra attention to our outwardly Christian duties and hope God is sufficiently impressed.

But worship? Really worship? Lay ourselves aside, our needs, our wants, our agenda and just worship God as He is right at that moment? Before he's indicated how this situation is going to resolve? It goes against everything inside us. It also goes against everything satanic inside us.

Satan cannot stand our worship and God cannot resist it.

When we worship God in spirit and in truth we shake a fist in Satan's face. Darlene Zscheche of Hillsong says, "Worship in the midst of a trial is a proclamation that what Satan intended to harm you will not plunder you."

Are you in the middle of a storm? Have you rattled heaven's gates in vain?

Try shoving all that aside and seek God's face. Worship him with music and singing, simply because He is worthy of worship at all times.

It's not a ploy, an attempt to flatter God and twist his arm. It's because there is power in praise. It pushes aside the darkness, opens prison doors, and sends the demons fleeing.

The battle is the Lord's. He fights the Enemy with your worship.
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