The Power of Praise and Worship to Ward off Fear
Have you ever been in a situation where you felt completely helpless and afraid?
A diagnosis. A loss. Situations out of your control.
Fear has a way of pushing it’s way into our hearts and minds when we face the unknown.
It slowly permeates every area of our being, leaving us anxious and exhausted.
I know this from experience.
In fact, for years fear and I were close.
Our paths crossed early on, but only for brief moments.
Yet as life began to take it’s toll, we became more acquainted.
Postpartum depression. My father’s death. An unexpected miscarriage.
Life had become full of uncertainties.
Fear stood at my door banging and screaming to come in.
It began convincing me that the world was unstable and I was at it’s mercy. That I just had to sit and wait for the “next bad thing” to happen.
[clickToTweet tweet=”It’s hard to resist fear, when you’re not covered in truth.” quote=”It’s hard to resist fear, when you’re not covered in truth.”]
It was during this time of intense fear that God began to draw me in and teach me through His Word. He exposed lies and replaced them with truths.
He showed me that fear is not just an emotion, but a spirit. It couldn’t be taken lightly. There was an assignment against me and He was my Source for overcoming.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV
I had to learn to battle in the spirit.
Searching the Word, I came across a story that resonated with my struggles. Not only would I find comfort, but a weapon I could use to overcome fear.
The Power of Praise and Worship to Ward off Fear
Learning to Battle in the Spirit
King Jehoshaphat was in a terrifying situation. Much like my own life, everything seemed to be going great for him, when out of the blue he received a bad report: The Moabites, the Ammonites and some of the Meunites were declaring war against him.
Now this was no ordinary battle. This mighty army was out for blood and they were getting close. With the odds stacked against him, Jehoshaphat had to make a move.
It seemed he had two options:
He could let the fear overwhelm him and shrink back or he could go forward risking great loss for his people.
When we are faced with difficult situations, we tend to only see the negative options.
But Jehoshaphat chose a different path.
Rather than looking at his circumstances, He looked up.
He chose to fight not in the flesh, but in the spirit.
When faced with fear, he chose to seek God and praise Him.
[clickToTweet tweet=”In the midst of our difficult times, we can choose to praise and be raised or complain and remain.” quote=”In the midst of our difficult times, we can choose to praise and be raised or complain and remain.”]
After experiencing so much loss, my instinct was to complain. To ask the why’s and question God’s love for me.
But Jehoshaphat was wiser. He knew something that I would soon embrace.
The Power of Praise and Worship
Instead of complaining, Jehoshaphat began to praise and worship.
He prayed, “O Lord, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you!” 2 Chronicles 20:6 NLT
I believe the moment he began to praise, his battle was already won.
His eyes were lifted from his situation to the One who could win the battle for him.
Our battles belong to the Lord.
Jehoshaphat’s battle plan was to send in the singers to praise the Lord.
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.” 2 Chronicles 20:22 NLT
When we praise Him, we take our eyes off of ourselves. When our eyes are no longer fixed on our circumstances, we can clearly see His hand at work on our behalf.
This is what I failed to see during my time of pain.
I was blinded by my hurts.
When I began to praise Him, I realized that He was actually doing something amazing in me during this difficult time.
He was teaching me who He was and the power I had in Him.
This truth would become part of my new battle plan for fighting fear.
To read the rest of this post, click over to ICHOOSEBRAVE.com, where I’m guest posting today!
>>>Click here to check out the rest of the Battling Fear Series .<<<
Love this! Just this morning I was thinking about how powerful praise is and dwelling on the question “How can I truly live a life of worship?” Thanks for adding to my thoughts on this idea.
That’s awesome, Kira! That is my desire too, to live a life of worship!
So true that many of our fears arise because we forget who God is! Praise takes our brain to the place of Truth!
Yes! I love that Michele!
Love how you speak of battling fear in the spirit. It is something I have had to learn and continue to learn. I had a lot of roots of fear from my childhood that I found stirred up once I got into my 20s and it had been a long steady process fighting the battle towards freedom and daily claiming victory in Jesus
Praise the Lord your learning how to battle, Naomi! There is such freedom that take place when we know we have the resources we need to overcome!
Thanks for the reminder that praise is a weapon. Clicking over to finish reading.
Thanks, Kelly!
Praise truly breaks strongholds like no other!
I agree, Esther! Btw…love your name. I have a daughter named Esther Rose.
Yes! I often think we forget how valuable and necessary it is for us to praise and worship every, single, day!