Singing songs of thanksgiving
“Oh, yeah? You and what army?” This clichéd challenge appears in many comic and action movies. But the three allied forces coming to attack the biblical kingdom of Judah did not challenge King Jehoshaphat with those words. Why would they, when they thought they already knew the answer? After all, Jehoshaphat did have an actual army. So it probably never occurred to the attackers that Jehoshaphat’s answer would be “A choir.”
But that’s precisely what Jehoshaphat sent in response to the threat. Instead of making the usual preparations for war, he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah and began to pray. All the people of Judah prayed, too. The result of that prayer was the divine assurance that they would not need to fight at all. The next morning, Jehoshaphat did send his army—but no soldiers were in the vanguard. Instead, singers led the way, with instructions “to sing to the Lord and praise him . . . and say, ‘Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever.’ ” The attacking armies turned on and destroyed one another, without Jehoshaphat’s troops having to strike a single blow (see II Chronicles 20:1–30, English Standard Version).
We don’t generally think of gratitude as either a defensive or an offensive weapon. But it is both, in the sense that any light is a weapon against any shadow. Gratitude is both a defense against and an attack on the suggestion that there is a power other than God, good. Because God is good, all that He creates is good, and He creates all. There is and can be no other power.
Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.
