J who? J why? J Praise?

I love mornings where I can sit and watch the sun come up and then watch the rays shine through the trees. We also have a windmill in the yard that I noticed slowly starts to spin faster as the morning wanes by.

While glancing out the window gazing at the sun shining on the trees I felt my Lord whispered “Jehoshaphat.” This brought me back to some scripture this morning that I remember reading one morning while camping in the mountains with our friends. It was a déjà vu moment for me as I read on in my Bible and the notes I made in the margins.

I so remember God speaking to me up in the mountains just about four months ago when I read about Jehoshaphat in 2Chron 20. I really felt like God was speaking to me again from these passages; and this is what I felt like He was whispering to me through His Word…

When tragedies big or small come; whether it is a bad hair day or a day where devastating news come from any area of my life; God is standing in my presence. I can and God wants me to cry out to him in my distress and He will hear me and He will save me. Just as a loving mother will run to the cries of her newborn baby, so will my loving God run to my cries.
Through my circumstance God is telling me “Do not be afraid or discouraged!” “This battle you feel you are under right now is not yours but MINE!”

Even though there are things that I may feel God nudging me to do and of course I will be blessed in obeying His commands; yet I am not fighting the BIG FIGHT…this battle is not mine to fight; but God wants me to take my position as His daughter and stand firm and see the deliverance that the LORD will give me! Hallelujah!!

I think I need to hear that one again…it is in verse 17…”You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you!...Oh (Fill in your name)…I filled in mine. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.”

I so desire to sit back in awe and watch our LORD win the fight! Will you pop some popcorn and sit back with me and watch this story unfold in your own life?

So what is our position and what did Jehoshaphat do…I was so blessed in remembering this…our job…our focus…our position…our duty…our joy is in bowing to our God “faces to the ground” and upon arising may we sing praises to the LORD! May we have faith in the LORD…so that we will be upheld; have faith in Him and we will be successful! The Lord has given us cause to rejoice…may we be blessed in doing so!! Verse 30 talks about the peace that Jehoshaphat’s kingdom found in praising Him in the valley….the Valley of Beracah (the Valley of Praise)…May we too praise Him in all things at times when we are resting on the peaks and highs of life and also the lows and valleys of this life.

I never realized the importance or the call I had as His daughter to praise Him in all things; yet as a young mom and still young in my faith I would do this daily. Whether it was a good day or a bad day with my sweet babies I had time everyday where I played my favorite worship/praise music and I held them tight and danced in my living room with them praising my Heavenly Father for anything and everything I could think of!!! My boys are much older now and we still love to praise and worship together…and every time we do my heart feels lighter and more full of joy.

I think I will take my position…how about you? Will you sing praise with me?? I’m ready to pop my CD’s in and dance with boys.