Recently my good friend, Stephanie sent me the following note, (Caps are mine.)
“I've been thinking of you this morning, and I feel like there's something in 2Chronicles 20 for you-
Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah were faced with an army come to take them out. The people turned to the Lord and testified of His power, greatness and willingness to move on their behalf. With their hearts turned to Him, they said,
“WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO, BUT OUR EYES ARE ON YOU.”
Then the Lord said-
"Do not be afraid or discouraged of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s…take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you…Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow and the Lord will be with you.”
The people POSITIONED THEMSELVES IN WORSHIP. They sang, “Give Thanks to the Lord for His love endures forever!” And as they sang and praised, the Lord set ambushes against the army that had rose against them. The enemies turned on each other and WIPED THEMSELVES OUT!
When it was all over, it took 3 entire days for Jehoshaphat and his men to carry off all the plunder from their defeated enemies!”
Stephanie followed that scripture description with some beautiful words of encouragement meant just for me. (Thank you Stephanie!)
When I turned to that passage in my Bible, it was almost completely underlined! Worship has been very important to me for many years. At one point I even fell into the sneaky trap of worshiping worship.
Today this has me pondering the wonderful wisdom of these men. The second half of their prayer….BUT OUR EYES ARE ON YOU….reveals some deep wisdom. I don’t know if they said it with an expression of exasperation or with quiet faith. Either way, it shows us what the perfect DEFAULT is for any situation! Wonder how long the battle would have gone on if they HAD KNOWN what to do!?
Worship is a state of mind. The POSITION of worship is simply PUTTING OUR EYES ON HIM! It is a state of heart. Which comes first does not matter. The worship of God’s people is a mysterious and multi-layered thing. As I read this story I was overwhelmed with the intricate and detailed threads that weave through us as we worship!
There is POWER in worship.
There is SAFETY in worship.
There is more! Each of those statements is full of keys and revelation that lead us back to LOOKING AT HIS EYES.
Worship really is the ONLY sensible thing to do when we do not know what to do! It has become my DEFAULT. Unanswered questions and nagging doubts still hit me, but they do not overwhelm me anymore. He does not mind if I say, “God, I do not get this, but I am looking at you!” My default is to look at Him. For several years I have signed my letters, “Always Worshiping”. It has not been written lightly, it is where I live.
I'm going through some really tough stuff with my oldest daughter, and I know I need to really let this message sink in. I want to fix everything for her. I want to make everything okay. But I can't. And I can't seem to find my way into worship, either.
ReplyDeleteEncouragement welcome here. :)
Hi Shawna, I'll answer you here and on your site so you get it. It could be that when we think we cannot worship, it is possible that our definition of worship may need to be broadened.
ReplyDeleteIn hard times, our natural tendency is to isolate and concentrate on the issue. Instead, try to push the issue away and look at Jesus. Put on worship music, read your journal about times He came through, and mostly force your thoughts back to Him. Sounds cold and almost like brain washing, but we need our brains washed sometimes! Ha!
I am thinking of you and praying for you this morning Shawna!