Month of Praising - Day 8

2Chronicles 20:17-22

17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 19 Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high.20 So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” 21 And when he had 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 were saying: “Praise the Lord, For His mercy endures forever.” 22 Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.

The scripture today depicts the time when the people of Moab with the people Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, who as a result faithfully comforted him with words of peace. After consulting with the people, Jehoshaphat appointed those who should sing to praise the Lord, proclaiming their faith. Not only did their praises bring down the presence of the Lord, but also the works of the Lord. As mighty as the enemy could be in extremely tough situation, our Lord God would always save us as we praise Him!

Pay attention to verse 22 - right when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the enemy. We will experience the miraculous work of the Lord whenever we praise. Just as said by a seasoned servant of the Lord, nothing would urge our God to do the work of transformation as much as our praises do.

Brothers and sisters, for sure we all have different challenges, either from our body or the external situations. How should we deal with them? What should we do to overcome all the difficulties? Praise God in tough circumstance means that we have to overcome our natural reactions, be it our complain, fear, or worry. As "normal" as our first reaction is, praises can guard our hearts to overcome our anxiety and self-reliance, and help us remember the lesson the Israelites have learnt here - "the battle is not yours, but God's" (v15).

代下20:17-22

17 猶大和耶路撒冷人哪，這次你們不要爭戰，要擺陣站著，看耶和華為你們施行拯救。不要恐懼，也不要驚惶，明日當出去迎敵，因為耶和華與你們同在。」 18 約沙法就面伏於地，猶大眾人和耶路撒冷的居民也俯伏在耶和華面前，叩拜耶和華。 19 哥轄族和可拉族的利未人都起來，用極大的聲音讚美耶和華以色列的神。20 次日清早眾人起來，往提哥亞的曠野去。出去的時候，約沙法站著說：「猶大人和耶路撒冷的居民哪，要聽我說！信耶和華你們的神，就必立穩；信他的先知，就必亨通。」 21 約沙法既與民商議了，就設立歌唱的人頌讚耶和華，使他們穿上聖潔的禮服，走在軍前讚美耶和華，說：「當稱謝耶和華，因他的慈愛永遠長存！」22 眾人方唱歌讚美的時候，耶和華就派伏兵擊殺那來攻擊猶大人的亞捫人、摩押人和西珥山人，他們就被打敗了。

這段經文講到摩押人與亞捫人，連同米烏尼人一同來進攻以色列人，約沙法便懼怕起來。但他定義尋求耶和華，神便信實的帶下了安慰的信息。約沙法和百姓商議後採取了一個行動，他們安排一個詩班，用讚美的方式表達對神的信心。讓我們看見讚美不單可以帶下神的同在，同樣要帶下神的作爲。仇敵雖然猖狂，環境雖然險惡，但耶和華要在我們的讚美中施行拯救。

22節：方唱詩的『方』字，就派伏兵的『就』字，講到甚麼時候我們讚美，甚麼時候我們就要看見 神奇妙的工作。正如一位老僕人說的：「沒有一件事，能夠動主的手，像讚美那樣的快。」

弟兄姊妹們，我們一定有身體的軟弱，環境的不順，或是事業方面各種各樣的困難。我們怎麼辦呢？我們該如何得勝呢？在難處當中讚美神，意味著我們要先剋服天然人的自然反應。因為在面對難處的時候，我們會都會憂愁和懼怕，這是正常的，但是，讚美卻可以保守我們的心勝過煩憂的念頭，以及對自我的依賴，並提醒我們以色列人學到的課題：「勝敗不在乎（我們），乃在乎 神。」（15節）