At the very moment they began to sing and praise, the LORD caused the armies of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves; Not a single one of them escaped. 2 Chronicles 20:22,24

I’ve read this story about Jehoshaphat and the battle that was upon them before and the verse that has always jumped out at me was “Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” (2 Chronicles 20:15) I mean, come on, that’s a great verse. All of these armies had declared war on Jehoshaphat. Armies that were bigger, stronger, better equipped, in the worldly sense, anyway. He was terrified. So what was his first response? He didn’t run away in fear. He didn’t throw up his hands in defeat. He didn’t try to come up with a plan on his own. He prayed and begged the LORD for guidance. He called all the people of Judah to come to Jerusalem to fast and pray. Wow…can we honestly say that’s always our first response to the battles we face today? Not me… not always… I’m human. Sometimes my fear takes the lead and my doubts crowd out what my heart knows is the right thing to do. But not Jehoshaphat.

His prayer, his heartfelt seeking of the LORD brought about an answer. As all the families were standing there, the Bible says “The Spirit of the LORD came upon one of the men” (verse 13) and told them not to worry, God was gonna fight this battle. “Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be able to stand firm.” (2 Chronicles 20:20) This is the same promise we have today as Christians. We are not meant to fight our battles on our own. Our God fights for us. But what struck me this time as I read these verses is what happened next. The war wasn’t over, the battle had not even really begun yet but these people began to “sing to the LORD, praising Him for His holy splendor.” (verse 21)

It’s easy to praise God when things are going our way. When God blesses us and answers our prayers, our natural response is to thank Him. But here are these people, preparing for what they most assuredly thought would be a horrific war, praising God in song. Before the victory, before the breakthrough, before they knew how things would turn out, they worshiped the LORD God Almighty. Man, what faith.

I’ve been writing this blog for a year now. If you have read anything I’ve written you probably know there are some things I’m praying for. Some battles that are still raging. God, in His sovereignty, has not chosen to give me these things or end these battles, yet. But as I read this, I realized I need to praise Him anyway. I need to praise Him now. I need to sing of faithfulness. I need to worship my God, not for what He can give me, but for who He is. Because He deserves all that I have to offer and so much more. There is no other God like our God and no one else who deserves the lifting of our hands and the sound of our voices shouting out praise. I want to praise Him before the breakthrough. I want to honor Him, seek Him and stand firm on His promises before I ever see them become a reality. Maybe that’s what He’s been waiting on all along.

“At the very moment they began to sing and give praise,” the battle was won.