"For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the meek with salvation. Let the godly ones be joyful in glory; let them sing for joy on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouths, and two-edged swords in their hands, to execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with shackles of iron; to execute upon them the written judgment; this is honor for all His godly ones. Praise the Lord!" (Psalm 149:4-9)
Christians are called to be a victorious people, standing boldly on the victory won by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross and the tomb. Despite Christ's victory, however, many Christians still live defeated lives marked by helplessness against sin, foolish decision-making, and ungodly relationships. Do you want to know how to live a victorious life in Christ? Read on.
Declaring God's victory
We who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ know that He has won the victory for our sakes. His death on the cross broke the power of sin over our lives, and His resurrection from the dead assured us of eternal life with God – even now as we live. He has given us this victory, and has given to us the Holy Spirit as guarantee that we are indeed His: God's children who are victorious in Christ.
For our part, we are simply told to enter God's presence with thanksgiving, praising Him for His mighty act of saving us, and declaring His ultimate triumph over the enemy. Always. We declare His praises and mighty power as we sing to Him.
What we don't realise is that we cannot separate declaring His praise and triumph over the enemy.
In Psalm 144:1-2, David sang unto God, saying,
"Praise the Lord, who is my rock. He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle. He is my loving ally and my fortress, my tower of safety, my rescuer. He is my shield, and I take refuge in him. He makes the nations submit to me."
David, perhaps the most famous worship leader ever, is also known to be a man of war. We Christians are also called to be the same: a people who praises God and wages warfare over the enemy, Satan and his minions.
They go together
Friends, if we want to grow in our faith, we need to both praise God and wage war against the enemy. The enemy wastes no time deceiving us and attempting to derail us from God's will over our lives. We should be relentless against him!
How do we do this? By lifting Christ up in praise. Always.
- In Acts 16:25-28, we read how God rescued Paul and Silas from jail as the two were singing praises to Him. Praising God even in hardship breaks shackles and fetters, and sets us free from captivity.
- In Exodus 17:8-16, we read how the Israelites won the war against the Amalekites as Moses lifted up the rod of God in his hand. There we see that lifting God up no matter how tiring it may be will always bring victory.
- In Joshua 6, we read how the God gave Jericho to Israel after the latter obeyed Him and shouted His praise. When we shout the victory that God has given to us according to His Word, we are assured that we will receive it.
Word of our testimony
Friends, praising God at all times is very powerful. No matter what we face, the truth remains the same: Christ has overcome the world, and because He has overcome, we will overcome as we abide in Him, too. Let's hold on to the testimony of how Christ set us free, and praise God for the salvation He has provided for us undeserving men.
"They overcame [the enemy] by the blood of the Lamb [Jesus] and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death." (Revelation 12:11 emphasis mine)
