Mutual Delight Is War

“Let the people of Zion delight in their King! …For the Lord takes delight in his people” (Ps. 149:2b;4a, NET).

Can you tell, by reading these verses, that Psalm 149 is about warfare? We are instructed here to delight in our King. Does the concept of delight bring to your mind scenes of military prowess?

For me, upon first glance, it doesn’t. However, within this passage lies perhaps the most important secret to winning every spiritual battle you and I will ever fight. Look at verse 6: “May they praise God while they hold a two-edged sword in their hand.”

This is the secret: Entering into what I like to call “God’s circle of mutual delight” guarantees victory over the enemy. Hands down. Every single time.

Can you see it? This Scripture is infused with the idea of mutual delight. First, Holy Spirit invites us, “Let the people of Zion delight in their King!” Two verses later, He reveals to us that King Jesus is right there in the dance with us, exuberantly reciprocating our enjoyment of Him: “For the Lord takes delight in His people!”

As we exult in who He is, without even realizing it many times, we find ourselves wielding an indomitable two-edged sword in our hand. As we pour out our praise on Him, that very praise becomes a weapon that slices through spiritual places with breathtaking precision.

The first two-thirds of this psalm are focused on rejoicing exceedingly in the goodness and the power of our Lord. The last three verses, almost as an afterthought, finally mention the utter subduing of the enemy. This crushing triumph takes place as a direct result of all the glorious mutual love exchange that has been transpiring for the bulk of the chapter. The final verse announces that His people “execute the judgment to which their enemies have been sentenced” (v. 9).

The percentages here speak volumes to us. What if you spend at least two-thirds of your prayer time partaking richly in Daddy’s invitation to mutual delight? Do you think that just maybe, when you are through, you will look up and realize that your enemies are lying still beneath your feet? Or perhaps they will have long ago run far, far away from you, screaming with their hands over their ears?

That is exactly what will have happened. So how do we do this? Let’s go ahead and pull out all the action words from this passage. Each one of them is an invincible weapon of war in your hands:

• “Praise!”
• “Sing!”
• “Rejoice!”
• “Delight!”
• “Dance!”
• “Shout for joy!”

Dear one, lift up your voice and start to sing right to Him! Get to delighting blissfully in the stunning beauty of your King! Bust out your garment of praise and get loud! Exult in how infinitely mighty is the One who holds your cause in His hands!

Slip right now into His circle of mutual enjoyment. Drink in Daddy’s great delight in who you are, lift up your soul, and rejoice!!

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Have you experienced victory in spiritual warfare, by engaging in heartfelt praise?