The Weapon of Praise

I was really touched this past week by the song "This is My Destiny." It is a powerful modern hymn containing Biblical theology and truth for every believer. Dennis Jernigan, the writer of "This is My Destiny", is also the writer of other well-known worship songs such as "Who Can Satisfy" and "You are My All in All." He was once a struggling youth who did not fit in with his peers. He had numerous self-esteem issues and eventually fell into homosexuality because that was where he found acceptance. As a young adult, God delivered him from this lifestyle and called Him into music ministry. Today, he is married and has several children (9 I last heard!) He is a powerful worship leader, and his music brings healing and hope to many who are struggling. Dennis admits even today that he writes many of his songs as weapons of warfare against his old patterns of thinking. He has learned that praise to God Almighty silences the enemy (Psalm 8:2). In other words, Satan is basically "bound and gagged" when we praise the Lord. He is forced to sit and listen to it!

In the Old Testament, King Jehoshaphat inquired of the Lord before going into battle against the enemy armies who were advancing toward them. Seeing the size of the enemy armies, Jehoshaphat prayed, "Lord, we don't know what to do, but our eyes are on You." (2 Chron. 20:12) The Lord spoke to Jehoshaphat saying, "Do not be discouraged because of the vast army...you will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance that the Lord will give you...Do not be afraid, but go out and face them tomorrow and the Lord will be with you." (2 Chron. 20:15-17) Jehoshaphat and all of his people fell to the ground and began to worship the Lord. They praised Him with a very loud voice! Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord; to praise Him for the splendor of His holiness. Then they went out ahead of the army singing "Give thanks to the Lord for His love endures forever!" As they began to sing, the Lord sent ambushes against the enemy and they turned toward each other and destroyed one another. Not one member of the enemy army was left standing. What an incredible story!

God has reminded me this week that praise is a powerful weapon against the enemy. Praise is the way se "stand firm and take up our positions." There is great victory in praise. We begin by recalling truths from God's Word. I believe the song, "This is My Destiny" is a warfare hymn that Dennis Jernigan wrote to silence the enemy. The chorus says:

He calls me child He calls me to His side eternally
He calls me once was lost, now found, was bound to sin now free
He calls me holy, calls me righteous by the blood redeemed
He calls me overcomer crowned with victory, this is my destiny!

Stand firm, take your positions--let us see the deliverance of the Lord! Praise is powerful and it is our destiny to be overcomers!

Something Beautiful

Not too long ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to hear Andre Watts and the Ft. Worth symphony play the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto #2 in Cm. The music was so incredibly beautiful that it made me cry. Rachmaninoff is a master of beautiful melodies (as many Russian composers are). The unique aspect of this concerto is that it came as a result of the aftermath of a disastrous failure of his first symphony in 1897. After horrible failure, Rachmaninoff sank into a deep, clinical depression. He began to doubt his ability to compose, and he was ready to put his music career behind him. After much therapy and encouragement, he decided to write the Piano Concerto #2 in Cm. It is one of his most captivating works, and audiences world-wide are astounded by the beauty of this piece.

This story reminds me of God's ability to redeem and restore after failure and loss. I am not sure of Rachmaninoff's religious beliefs, but it is evident that God is the author and creator of music, no matter who the musician may be. God is always at work within us to cause us to triumphantly march into victory even if there has been failure in our lives. When I was growing up, I learned a song written by the Gaithers entititled, "Something Beautiful." The lyrics go like this:

Something Beautiful
Something good
All my confusion
God understood
All I had to offer Him
Was brokenness and strife
But He made something beautiful of my life.

There is no failure or mistake too great that God cannot overcome. I love Corrie ten Boom's quote, "There is no pit too deep that He is not deeper still."

If you ever get a chance to listen to Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto #2 in Cm, you will hear absolutely beautiful music, and it would be difficult for you to believe that Rachmaninoff almost gave up composing before it was written. I am so thankful that he didn't give up! I am also thankful that God doesn't give up on us either. We are all "symphonies" that are being written, and God is creating "something beautiful" in all of us!

But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. (2 Cor. 2:14)

A Beautiful Flower

Cheryl Costello-Forshey once told a story about "the most beautiful flower." The story began with a woman who was disillusioned with life, with many reasons to frown. She sat down on a deserted park bench and began to sulk. At that moment, a little boy interrupted her silence and exclaimed, "Look what I found!" In his hand was a flower which was quite pitiful, with worn petals and a brown, droopy stem. As she grew more irritable, the woman just wished the boy would go away and leave her alone. Instead, the boy sat beside her and placed the flower to his nose and said, "It sure smells pretty and it's beautiful too. That's why I picked it for you!" The little boy handed the woman the flower, which looked more like a weed. There were no vibrant colors in this flower, no wonderful aroma or anything eye-catching about it. The woman was rather insulted that the boy would give her such an ugly "gift." She almost wondered if it was a joke. Out of kindness, the woman took the flower and said "thank you". The woman noticed that the boy handed the flower to her, but did not place it in her hand, and then she realized for the first time that the little boy was blind.

The little boy was pleased that she accepted his gift and ran on to play. The self-pitying woman sat speechless on the park bench after the little boy left. It was almost as if the little boy "saw" her self-indulgence. Perhaps he had been the one who was blessed with true sight. The woman learned a great lesson that day--from that moment on, she vowed to see the beauty in life and appreciate every second that she had. As she held the wilted flower to her nose, she breathed in the fragrance as a reminder to her of the lesson the boy taught her. It was at that moment that she could smell a "rose".

There are certainly plenty of problems in this world and it is easy to get bogged down with all of the issues that plague us on a daily basis. The Lord used this "beautiful flower" story to remind me this week that I need to be thankful for each day and the blessings that belong to me. Sometimes when things don't go "our way" we are tempted to become disillusioned, but there are always things to be thankful for in this life and the Lord desires for us to have a heart of gratitude. The blind little boy is such an inspiration to me, because he was not concerned with the fact that he was blind--he was not depressed or sad because of his blindness. Instead, he was enjoying life and giving to others.

Lord, open the eyes of our hearts as you reveal those "beautiful flowers" to us. Many times, we have blessings that we do not see. May we not be blind to the blessings that you desire to give us. Give us "true sight" as we seek to be thankful for each day and the special moments that will be gone before each day is over. Most of all, help us to see the needs of those around us so that we can bless some else's life today.