In II Chronicles 20, we get the story of Jehoshephat, one of the godly, faithful kings of Judah. He was a good king. He loved the Lord and sought Him in all things. But enemies were coming against them, a vast army made up of three kingdoms united for the purpose of destroying them.

Jehoshephat sought the Lord. He called the entire nation of Judah to come together for prayer and fasting. So the whole nation assembled. They prayed. They humbled themselves. They listened to the prophet, listened for and to the word of the Lord. Then came something that really struck me.

So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” ²¹ And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:

     “Praise the Lord,
     For His mercy endures forever.”

²² Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. ²³ For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

Wow. Right? I mean, first of all, what leader–military or otherwise–of a nation do you know who not only calls the people to prayer, but who considers the first act of defense to be to assign people to praising God? What commander sends a worship team out before the army? I don’t recall any other stories offhand in the Bible where this was the order of events, and I certainly don’t recall anything in modern history quite like this. But it’s profound, isn’t it?

Look at what happens when praise leads the way! Look at how the Lord clears the path when we remember Him first, when we give Him glory in the direst of circumstances, when we fill the battlefields in our lives with songs of His mercy and might.

Those battlefields are cleared.

It certainly isn’t a magical formula. They couldn’t just assign singers and expect victory. First the people had to come together and seek God. They had to cleanse their hearts before Him. They had to listen to His word. They had to obey. They had to act in unity, following His instruction.

And when they did that, when they stepped out in perfect faith, trusting that God would deliver their enemies without them even having to fight, as the prophet promised them in verse 17 of that same chapter…when they did that, God moved in a powerful way. And He did it when their praises rang out. When they began to sing and to praise…

What happens when WE begin to sing and praise–not just because it’s the time of the service that calls for it, but in those moments when we know the greatest fear? When the enemy is surrounding us? What happens when we praise Him in our darkest moments?

What must it have been like to be one of the musicians and singers appointed for this honor? Looking at verse 21, the king consulted with the people and then chose them. I daresay he didn’t choose the greatest warriors. I don’t honestly know if he chose those with the prettiest singing voices. He chose those who WOULD sing to the Lord and praise the beauty of holiness. These were the people who led the army. Not the generals. Not the strong men. Those with hearts of praise. Those who knew the beauty of holiness, so that they could sing about it.

Oh Lord, shape my heart to be one of those people. Shape me to be so amazed and swept away by the glory of your holy name, of your perfect nature, that my first response is song. Is praise. Shape me to be the sort of person who leads the way not with weapons or strength of arm, but with my dedication to you. Shape me into a warrior of praise.

Shape me, Lord, so that then, when I lift my voice to you, I can see you at work. Because you are the mighty one who clears the battlefields for us. You are the one whose righteousness paves the way. You are the one who delivers us from all our trouble…as long as first we seek you. Humble ourselves. Cling tight to your promises.

And let praise lead us forward.

The other week while I was in Ocracoke, my morning devotional began with this passage from Acts 1:4-9 (NKJV):

⁴ And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; ⁵ for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” ⁶ Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. ⁸ But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

⁹ Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.

I read that…and then read it again. And paused and blinked. And wondered how I’d never noticed that before. Did you catch it?

The very last thing the disciples are recorded as saying to Jesus…it wasn’t a question about eternity. It wasn’t begging Him for more direction on how to create a Church worthy of His name. It wasn’t something to help them seek the kingdom of God. They asked Him about politics.

“Are you going to rid Israel of Rome now, Lord?” That’s what they were asking.

Does that sound a little familiar, maybe? How often is the church today praying, “Lord, help us reclaim our country!”?

But look at Jesus’s answer. We can’t know the times. Sure, okay…but what I found really fascinating was what He went on to say. You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you’ll bear witness to ME to the ends of the earth. In my mind, a paraphrase would be, “Look, friends, stop worrying about the earthly powers and rulers and authority. That’s not your business. Here’s what you’ll soon understand, when you’re filled with the Spirit: your job is to spread the Good News. Period.”

And you know what? Never again in the Acts or the epistles do we see the disciples fretting over who’s in charge in the nation of Israel. Because immediately following this, the Holy Spirit came. Filled them.

And they knew. They finally got it. They finally, FINALLY understood that Jesus wasn’t concerned with THEIR kingdom, the nation of Israel. He was concerned with HIS.

My friends, this is still true. Jesus isn’t concerned about America-as-such or Canada-as-such or the United-Kingdom-as-such or any other country. He’s concerned with the people in those countries; He’s concerned with whether they are part of His kingdom. He’s concerned not with who was elected or appointed to or inherited a position here on earth, but on whether we’re dedicating ourselves to bringing the kingdom of Heaven near. Yes, He uses those countries, just as He did Israel. They may embody certain things or represent aspects of His will or serve as an example. But our kingdoms and countries are just grains of sand in the glass of His eternity–quickly come, quickly gone. We think the very world will rise and fall with them…but it doesn’t. Because His kingdom is so much bigger.

We tend to shake our heads at the disciples in the Gospels, don’t we, when they ask again and again about whether Jesus is a warrior king? But we do it too. We want Him to ride in on the proverbial white stallion and set everything to rights. We want Him to fix THIS world, our world, to get rid of the evil and put good people in power. We want Him to avenge the wrongs and establish His just and righteous kingdom NOW.

But I imagine He would answer us just as He did the Twelve. “The Holy Spirit shall fill you. And you shall bear witness to Me.”

That’s the answer to whether He’ll rule this world. That’s ALL the answer needs to be. How do we fix the physical world? By focusing on the spiritual one. How do we bring hope to the here-and-now? By fixing our eyes on eternity. How do we help our countries? By praying and working toward the coming of His kingdom. If we make our goals winning hearts for Him and aligning our lives to His will, then the world will change, just as it has done before. But the answers aren’t found in the earthly courts or government buildings. The answers are found in knowing that He is bigger, longer, wider, older, yet newer than any earthly law or government could ever be.

He rules our kingdoms only when we let Him rule our hearts; but when we let Him rule our hearts, we soon see the truth: His kingdom will come only when we love selflessly, sacrificially, when we’re willing to love our enemies, when we offer ourselves for them, just as He did for us.

Let’s love like that. Let’s take that love into the world and bear witness of Him. Then we’ll see His kingdom come.