picturesfromheaven

After preaching this weekend that, "This is War," I thought that this word about dancing, would be a good followup. I truely believe what I said this weekend, that God put His church in this world to torment and thwart the enemy. You are a child of God, a part of His army. You are put on this earth to confuse the enemy’s strategies. You are here to torment the devil!

Picture…I saw a woman dancing before the Lord with enemies all around her. She was dressed in ancient garments, and had a sword in her hand. While she was dancing, she was cutting the enemy to shreds with her sword. But it wasn’t as if she was doing it on purpose. She wasn’t really paying any attention to the enemy. Her face was uplifted and it was intent on the Lord. It was like one of those old comedies when someone keeps accidentally hitting people without realizing it. That’s how it was; the woman was just worshipping and praising God with a sword in her hand and she was cutting the enemy asunder. I thought, “That’s cool. Praising and worshipping the Lord, keeping your focus on Him destroys the enemy.” But when I looked closer at the woman I realized that her look of concentration on the Lord was strained. It looked like it was taking everything she had to hold onto the sword. It wasn’t as easy or lighthearted as it looked like from a distance. As I looked closely I could tell that it took a great deal of stamina, concentration, and determination to keep that sword in her hand.

Hear…the Lord say, “Dance before me. Worship me with all your heart. Think not that worship can be done as an afterthought. Think not that worship is done only in times of celebration. Worship can be a fight when you are facing adversaries, but it is at such a time that it is most effective. Although not easy, worship in times of distress is effective in destroying the strategies of the enemy that was planned against you. So dance!”

Consider: It is fairly easy to worship the Lord when you get a surprise check in the mail, a clean bill of health from the doctor or you’ve lost 5 pounds. It is not so easy when things are going terribly wrong and you don’t know how you are going to make it until tomorrow. But worship is not about us, or our present circumstances, it is about how great and mighty is our God. Remember worship is thanking God for who He is not for what He has done. Worshipping God when all hell is breaking lose in your life is not only appropriate it is needed. It is at such times that worship becomes an act of faith that will release God’s power in your life. So many people think that spiritual warfare is about binding, and cursing. Although to some extent it is, it is so much more. Warfare is not giving place to the enemy. Warfare is figuring out what the enemy wants you to do and then do the opposite so that you defeat his plans for you. Warfare is focusing on God and not giving your attention to the enemy. The enemy craves attention, to defeat him; you must withhold what he craves the most. You must do what he hates the most...God being glorified. It will not be easy. It might take every ounce of strength that you have. But then serving God isn’t for wimps is it? Neither is worship. Worship God when you feel like it and when you don’t. Worship God when you have energy and when you don’t. Worship God in victory, and worship God on your way to victory. Worship God in every situation, in every state of being. WORSHIP THE LORD!

Pray: “God you are holy, you are righteous, you are worthy and you are true. You are the almighty God, creator of the heavens and the earth. Nothing is too hard for you, including my present situation. I will praise you and worship you for you are beautiful beyond description, magnificent in power and splendor. There is no one like you, on the earth, under the earth or in the heavenly realms. You are King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You are the reason why I get up in the morning, and the reason I can lay my head down at night in peace. Glorious is all your ways. Your way is truth and it is light. I love you, no; love is too mild a word. I adore you. I’m mad about you. Your words are light and life. They are sweet yet strong. This stuff that I am going through right now, is not about me, it is about your glory and power working through me. It’s all about you God. It’s all about you!”