When We Must Raise A Hallelujah
When my sister and I were growing up, we played many sports and took some nice tumbles and hits through the years. My dad’s number one rule: we were not allowed to cry on the field or court. We may have broken that rule a time or two, but we always remembered it. This made us tougher opponents then and, to this day, has made us strong. One of my dad’s favorite sayings about us nowadays is, “I didn’t raise no sissies,” and I love the fact he believes my sister and I are strong women who will not cower and can take on anything.
Our Heavenly Father believes the same thing. He has not raised you up to be feeble. Life is hard and sometimes the going gets tough. Satan is tempting you around every corner and the devil would love nothing more than for you to give up. But, friend, pull it together and use praise as your weapon. This is what God asks of you. Turn to Him and praise and pray to Him in your time of anguish. 2 Kings 17:38-39 says,
Do not forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not worship other gods. Rather, worship the Lord your God; it is He who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.
My dad had the rule of ‘no crying during games,’ not because he wanted to torment us and make us suffer, but so we would keep on going. We had to learn to fight through some pain. And guess what? The next time it was a little easier to fight through it. The same mentality goes spiritually.
Many of us have most likely heard the Bethel Music song, “Raise a Hallelujah” and the story behind it. If not, I encourage you to Google both. It is easily becoming my favorite song to blast in my car and sing on my way to and from work. But what does it mean to ‘raise a hallelujah’ and ‘Heaven comes to fight for me?’
Well, I’ll tell you one thing - it means God has your back, and we need to praise Him always for being on our team. Exodus 14:14 promises, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
There are numerous examples of praise being used hand-in-hand with actual warfare throughout the Bible. David was pursued by an enemy basically his entire life. At one point he was pursued by King Saul, his father-in-law, and then his own son was after him, but David never ceased praising the Lord. God even recognized David as a man after His own heart. Psalm 103 even begins, “Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all His benefits.”
Even in the story of Jericho, praise was used as a form of weaponry by God. Joshua and the Israelites marched around the walls of Jericho and, when they cried out to the Lord, the walls came down.
Whatever battle you are facing, use praise as your weapon. Raise your hallelujah, and Jesus Himself will fight for you. Don’t lose hope. Tell the situation you are in that your God is in control and He is going to fight for you (Deuteronomy 3:22).
What challenges are you currently facing? We at the Tirzah community will pray for you and raise a hallelujah on your behalf.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Whitney can be described by the opening lyrics of a few Tom Petty songs. She's a good girl who grew up in a small Indiana town who loves her mama, Jesus, and America too. She practices medicine as a physician assistant at an urgent care. Whitney is a music enthusiast and leads worship at her church. She has a heart for people, and wants to help young girls and women find their worth in Christ rather than what the world says of them. Whitney loves a good dad joke, the outdoors, spending time with family and friends, Southern manners, working on her fitness, attempting Pinterest crafts, and cheering on Indiana University basketball.