When Joy Enters the Battle

There is a wise woman I know, quite a prayer warrior, who taught me a valuable lesson. She told me once: "Praise instead of pleas breaks the enemy's chains." 

See, when we think of war, we think of weapons, offensive and defensive strategies, right? Generally, we think of high adrenaline and danger. When we consider spiritual warfare, we consider intense prayer, angelic and demonic forces warring it out in the heavenly realms. We think of fervent prayer warriors asking for intervention and taking authority in the name of Jesus.

We rarely (if ever) think of the power of joy, praise... celebration.

I love how the book of Esther begins with feasting and celebration... and ends with a much different type of feasting and celebration. The first celebration is described in Esther 1 -- the end of a queen, the second in Esther 9-10 -- the salvation of the Jews.

At the beginning of Esther 9, D-Day has arrived. "On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the edict commanded by the king was to be carried out. On this day, the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the tables were turned, and the Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them. The Jews assembled in their cities in all the provinces of King Xerxes to attack those seeking their destruction. No one could stand against them, because the people of all the other nationalities were afraid of them. And all the nobles of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and the king's administrators helped the Jews, because fear of Mordecai had seized them. Mordecai was prominent in the palace; his reputation spread throughout the provinces, and he became more and more powerful" (Esther 9:1-4).

The enemies of the Jews had hoped to rout them thoroughly on this day, but somebody flipped the script. Somebody turned the tables. Instead of the Jews being routed, they did the routing, and the king's satraps, governors, and administrators helped them because of the position Mordecai the Jew now held (he was second in command of the entire Persian empire) (Esther 10:3).

And so, on that day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar... there was warfare. There was fighting, death, and destruction. In the city of Susa alone, 500 men were killed (including all ten sons of Haman -- which, significantly, was the final nail in the proverbial coffin of Haman's original success: see his power-grab #3 in my post: Whose Watercourse Is This Anyway?), and because Queen Esther requested it, the king's edict continued into the fourteenth day of Adar, and 300 more men were killed in Susa. Across the entire empire, the Jews killed 75,000 enemies.

It's ugly, y'all. It's horrible that this happened. And yet, when you consider the blanket decimation and annihilation that would have completely wiped out an entire people group without the Jews' doing this... you see the painful necessity...

The necessity brought about by the pride of Haman's heart. Because Mordecai would not bow to him, this mass slaughter became a reality on this day. 

How carefully we must weigh our motivations! Let pride be far, far from us! Proverbs 6:16 says: "There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to Him..." and then heading the list, at the very, very top is this: "haughty eyes" (Proverbs 6:17). Other items on that list are present in Haman's story, as well, but prominently: Pride caused this painful day in the Esther story.

My mom always used to quote this pithy little piece of wisdom from Proverbs anytime I was in danger of sounding too arrogant about anything at all: "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18), and then she'd follow it up with one of my favorite pieces of Scripture from Philippians 2: "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross! Therefore (since He humbled Himself, became obedient to death, even the most humiliating and painful spectacle -- death by Roman capital punishment on a cross), God exalted Him to the highest place..." (Philippians 2:5-9).

How much damage is done every day in the name of pride? How much damage has the church done in the name of pride? How much damage can we do to the enemy when we use as one of our primary weapons the very same weapon the enemy himself places in our hands: Pride!? 

We render ourselves completely ineffectual against the enemy when we stand on pride!

No! "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength" (Isaiah 30:15). Repentance, lest we forget, involves humility, humbling ourselves before the Lord, getting on our knees -- whether physically or spiritually -- to beg for His intervention. That's where our strength is. 

In Nehemiah 8:10, Nehemiah says: "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

In this war, spiritual warfare, the war between angels and demons -- "the joy of the Lord is our strength." 

Or, in the words of my friend, "Praise instead of pleas breaks the enemies' chains."

So look what happens in Esther 9-10. Celebration. 

"Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews through the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far, to have them celebrate annually the fourteen and fifteenth days of the month of Adar as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor" (Esther 9:20-22).

Psalm 30:11 says: "You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent."

We go from Esther 4:1, when "Mordecai learned of all that had been done, and he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes..." all the way to Esther 10:3 where it says: "Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews, and held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews."

From the pit of despair to the peak of the Persian empire.

The joy of the Lord was Mordecai and Esther's strength. Pride was Haman's downfall. 

How are we fighting our battles? In the joy of the Lord? Or through the efforts brought about because of pride? Because I guarantee you, the outcome of your war will be decided depending on the artillery you use.