I’d like to think of myself as an adventurer and a free spirit. Yet, there’s also a side of me that tends to worry about the future and how things will turn out.
Yet, the time when I worry the most is when I’m solely focused on my own life, and the time when I worry the least is when I’m focused on worshipping God.
That’s because a life of worship allows me to focus on Him instead of my own world. Worship allows me to see how great He is and how much He’s still in control.
One of the keys to having victory in our spiritual battles is to live a life of worship. Whenever we worship God, and we become lost in His presence – His peace becomes this shield that protects our hearts from the arrows and attacks of the world.
A life of worship will lead us and carry us through our battles
When the king of Judah in 2 Chronicles 20 fought his battle, the first thing he did was to send out the choir into the field. Now, how many choirs do you know that can lead a charge into battle?
2 Chronicles 20
20 Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, “Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.”
21 After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang:
“Give thanks to the Lord;
his faithful love endures forever!”
22 At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves.23 The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other. 24 So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped.
The king knew that worshipping God first meant that God will be with them and that He will be the One leading the charge. As a result, God gave them victory in a battle they have little chance of winning.
Who is fighting your battles today? Are you the one doing it or is it God who is leading the charge for you? It doesn’t mean you don’t have to do your part. What it means is that even when you’re doing your part, you can only go that far without God’s unlimited supply of grace for your life.
If you want God to lead the charge for you, worship Him first in your life. Place Him first in everything; your time, money, relationships, family, and work. Spend time worshipping Him in all that you do and allow Him to lead you in your battles.
If you’re struggling at work, have you considered taking just a few moments each day to pray for your coworkers, supervisors, and the company itself? When you’re struggling as a spouse or parent, do you take time off to pray for your spouse or your child? This is where you allow God to lead the charge in your battles.
If you’ve been fighting your battles for a long time and you’re getting weary of it, consider arranging your life in such a way that you can have more time and space to just worship God.
Instead of waking up each day trying to fight your battles on your own power and abilities, worship God first and allow Him to fight for you.
Here are some practical things you can do:
- Wake up earlier so that you can have that time of worship. See this as the moment when change happens to your day.
- Whenever you need an answer over an issue you can’t resolve, take prayer walks and learn to sense His guidance instead of trying to struggle on your own.
- It’s okay to work hard and persevere but balance that with a posture of surrender and brokenness before God. Just as when you run hard, you need to stop and rest before you can run again – when you work hard, you need to pause and worship.
Another battle I’ve fought over has to do with the issue of resentment in my heart. I find myself growing resentful toward those who are promoted ahead of me. The spirit of lack within me reminds me that there are not enough promotions in this world and I will become less than others as a result.
Through worship, I’ve allowed God to fight this battle for me. He’s been changing my heart and reminding me that in His Kingdom, there’s more than enough to go around for everyone and what He has in store for me is different from anyone else.
When I worship Him, He keeps showing me how He wants to bless me and pour His favor into my life. Instead of worrying about what others have, He wants me to focus on receiving the favor that He has for my life and then to go out and chase after His plans for my life.
The times when I struggle the most are when I try to fix things on my own; using my own thought process and ideas, becoming fixated on the problem, and convincing myself that I’m the hero in my own life.
It’s when I stop striving and come before God with a posture of complete surrender, that I begin to receive from Him abundantly.
Prayer – “I’m tired of fighting my battles on my own. I surrender and acknowledge that my heart is dry and empty. I need You and I receive all that You have for my life.”