A few days ago the Lord put it on my heart to believe for something that to me is really BIG, something I know He has done for others, but a real stretch for me. The kind of things you think of that he does for the real BIG spiritual powerhouses that I have looked up to... But as I was praying He was asking me if I could "see" myself in the situation He was telling me to believe for.
This morning, as we worshipped in church we sang a song, "and I sing because You are good, and I dance because You are good, and I shout because You are good, You are good to me..." I felt Him speak to my heart, "can you dance NOW, BEFORE you SEE the evidence? BEFORE the keys I am giving you are in your hand?" I thought about how when the answer to this prayer comes, how I will be singing, dancing and shouting how good He is in the middle of the street without giving a RIP about what anyone may think because it WILL be a miracle - there is NO way in the natural that I can make this think happen on my own. But what about now? Can I do it now? I am not a dancer nor shouter by nature, and I lost my nerve.
Yes, when the answer comes it will be HUGE, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that He has already given me MORE than enough reason to sing, to dance and to shout how good He is. It made me think about situations I have been in my life, the situations were hard, the trials tough to get through and yet through them all - the situation may have been bad, but HE was still good!
I know there are many people going through very difficult circumstances, asking God for BIG things and this morning while singing that song I was reminded of the story of King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20. Three armies had come against Judah, HUGE armies, well able to wipe Judah out completely. Jehoshaphat feared, BUT, he doesn't pitch a tent there! He calls all of Judah to a fast to seek the Lord. It is a natural thing to fear when we are faced with a BIG enemy against us, but it's what we do next that matters - do we stay in fear, do we see ourselves as grasshoppers compared to the "giants" or do we do as our Pastor Dan Colvin says - can we then stay BIG and see ourselves as HUGE grasshoppers, no matter the disappointments we have in our past!
All of Judah fasts and Jehoshaphat stands before them in the house of the Lord and begins to speak about all the things that God had done in the past. Please note, these are NOT things that he HIMSELF had experienced, they were things he had been taught. Many times we find it hard to have hope for BIG things because we personally have not seen God do them, but neither had Jehoshaphat - he called to remembrance for himself and all of Judah all the things God had done in the past - for their ancestors, not them directly. The word says that God is the same yesterday, today and forever... we can do as Jehoshaphat did and encourage ourselves by the great things that God has done for others, we can read His word and believe that if He did it for others He CAN do it for us too! By doing this his faith and the faith of Judah rose up and yours will too when you fill your mind and heart with His word!
The prophet Jahaziel, speaks, "You shall not need to fight in this battle; take your positions, stand still, and see the deliverance of the Lord Who is with you O Judah and Jerusalem. Fear not nor be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them for the Lord is with you." 2 Chron. 20:17
As a believer, your "position" is IN Him, when we engage heaven, stand still in who we are in Him, the battle is fought for us... No matter how noisy and fearful the battle is around us, we can "take our position" on the lap of our Abba, our Daddy, let Him hold us still and see the deliverance that HE will bring.
"And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord worshipping Him. And some Levites of the Korathites and Korahites stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice." 2 Chron. 20:19
They SANG because He is good and the Shouted because He is good!!!! They worshipped and sang and shouted... the next day the worshippers and singers went in FRONT of the army saying "Give thanks to the Lord for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever! (vs. 21) They were STILL facing a terrible enemy that meant to wipe them out, but worshipped, praised and thanked him for His goodness! The rest of this story tells of how the three armies became confused and took each other out - Judah never even had to fight them! For many days the people of Judah picked up all the "booty" left among the armies, so much it took them 3 days to carry it all away... not only did God give them the victory through the power of them seeking His way... singing, dancing, shouting His goodness even when the circumstances shouted back to them differently, but because of the miraculous victory the Lord gave them wealth and their enemies became afraid of them, and left them in peace.
So I have decided that I am going to SING because HE IS GOOD, DANCE because HE IS GOOD and SHOUT because HE IS GOOD!!!! Before the victory, and I will SEE the victory - will you join me? You will see that He is REALLY is more than you ever thought possible... and you are positioned for a miracle!
Please see 2 Chronicles 20 if you want to read the whole story. Please contact me if you have any questions, want to know more about Jesus or would like prayer.
