PRAISE OPENS THE DOOR TO HIS GRACE

Yesterday Pastor Lian preached about King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20:15. This King faced serious trouble as a great multitude was coming against the nation and he was in great fear. But he didn't go to the Lord for help as the last resort. He sought the Lord and petitioned to His goodness and mercy. The Lord told him the battle belonged to the Lord but the victory belonged to him. God told the King to praise and worship the Lord. And when they did that, God caused their enemies to kill each other. All they needed to do was to stand still and see the deliverance of the Lord. They didn't even have to lift a finger to fight their enemies. Yet the outcome was an abundance of spoils that it took the Israelites three days to fully collect all of them. They named the place Valley of Berachah or blessings. 

Pastor Lian said it was so important to praise the Lord in times of danger or difficulties because praise and worship changes our spiritual atmosphere. When we praise the Lord, we turn our focus away from ourselves and our situations, and we look to the Lord. We look to His ability not ours and when we cry out to Him for help, He always answers. He is always well able to deliver us from any situation. And the result is always much better than what we have thought or imagined. Pastor Lian showed us the Hebrew word for yadah or praise. From this Hebrew word we can see that praise is the hand of God that opens the door to grace. 

In Feb 2014, I had a dream and when I woke up, the word Yadah was on my mind. I looked up the meaning of this Hebrew word and it said 'to worship with extended hand'. It also denotes songs of praise, lifting the voice in thanksgiving, confessing the Lord's greatness. Over the past year, I kept getting this prompt to praise Him, worship Him and thank Him in advance for the wonderful thing He has done for me. Praise is the birth position. This promise is about to be birthed. I realize that God is getting me ready to give birth to this promise. I have finally come to the fullness of time!

Recently I have been reminded again to praise the Lord, to look to the Lord for help in times of need and to worship Him. Because I was facing birth pangs, I felt vulnerable and more in need of His help. I came to this point many times. If God didn't intervene, if He didn't give me strength, if He didn't send help, there was nothing I could do too. I came to the end of myself many times and knew that other than God no one can deliver me from this situation. 

I told God I was stuck and hit a plateau. If He didn't shift me or promote me, then I might stagnate. Yet I knew it was a good place to be in because He has brought me too far to leave me in limbo. I knew it would be no benefit to Him if I got stuck at this level or if I regressed. Just then I saw a sister's email about my book display in a bookstore, telling me it has been shifted to the top shelf along the main aisle. And she saw that I have been promoted to another level of spiritual maturity! Praise the Lord!