Verbalized Faith

“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.’ 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!’” (2 Chronicles 20:20-21 NLT)

What comes to mind when you read the words “verbalized faith.” Witnessing is a word that comes to my mind, but I believe there’s more here. What does our witnessing entail? What are we seeking to reveal in and through our “witnessing?” Our faith? Yes, of course, but how is that faith revealed, demonstrated through our verbalization, our words?

Notice in the verses above that Jehoshaphat’s battle strategy was based on his confidence in God; so much so, he placed a choir in front of his army. Under normal circumstances that would be equivalent to a suicide mission. Who is most likely to be killed first in battle, at least the kind of battle they fought in that time? First come, first “served”…death!

But if you read further you see that because of the faith in the Lord that King Jehoshaphat displayed by making that courageous decision, not a single person in his army lost their life. Why? Because the Lord put the opposing army into a panic, so much so, they turned on and killed each other.

Think about what happened and what the implications are for you and me. Pastor Rick Warren gives us insight when he writes: “Praise and thanksgiving are verbalized faith. If you thank God after the fact, that’s gratitude. If you thank God before it happens, that’s faith…There is power in expectation.”

What was the king’s expectation? That if he exercised faith, God would intervene! And He did! What’s the lesson? What are you facing in this moment, this season of your life? What is your expectation? What outcome are you anticipating in the battle(s) you’re facing?

What if we verbalized our faith by singing praises and lifting thanksgiving to the Lord? What if rather than: “O God, what am I going to do?” We sang: “Great are you Lord, and greatly to be praised!” Or “Come, Thou Almighty King, Help us Thy name to sing, Help us to praise: Father! All glorious, O’er all victorious, Come and reign over us, Ancient of Days.”  

What if rather than focusing on the size of the “army” in front of us we focused on the size of the God who reigns over us and lives within us? Faith isn’t a feeling, it’s a reality with which we live, move, and have our being, it’s an all-powerful Father who knows us best, loves us most, and has our back. He doesn’t back down in the face of overwhelming odds. He simply smiles, gives a command, and the opposing army dismantles themselves in fear and awe of Almighty God!

When God is with us, who can be against us? No one or nothing has power or authority over us except it is given them by our all-knowing, all-loving Father, or by us when we doubt and fear. If God allows it, it’s for our good, not our demise. He will work it for our ultimate blessing and good…if we’ll trust Him! If we’ll exercise our verbalized faith by lifting to Him praise, adoration, glory, honor, and thanksgiving in the beginning, not waiting until He works, then recognizing and thanking Him.

When we wait, we miss a great opportunity for our faith to grow, and our heart of love for God to expand.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊