Send Out The Band

Growing up, I vividly remember standing on Bancroft Avenue in Berkeley, California during my fifth, sixth, and seventh grade years. My brother was playing football for Cal Berkeley, and before the game ever began, there was always a scene unfolding outside the stadium.

The Cal band would march up Bancroft Avenue toward the stadium, instruments blaring, drums pounding, the excitement building. And then there were the years when USC came to town. Their band seemed enormous to me as a kid — overwhelming, loud, impossible to ignore — marching confidently toward the field before the battle ever began.

And even now, all these years later, I still think about those moments before kickoff. Before the game. Before the battle. The band always went first.

Those memories came rushing back to me recently as I read through 2 Chronicles.

Because in this story, before the battle began… God sent out the band.

2 Chronicles 20:15
“Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”

There are moments in life where we find ourselves surrounded.

Surrounded by uncertainty.
By sickness.
By financial pressure.
By situations too large for us to control or even understand.

And as I read about Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah, I realized they were standing in that exact kind of moment. Vast armies were coming against them. The situation was impossible. Humanly speaking, there was no path to victory.

But God spoke something so simple and so powerful:

“The battle is not yours, but God’s.”

And then something happened that makes no sense to the natural mind.

Before the victory ever came…
Before circumstances changed…
Before they saw deliverance…

Jehoshaphat sent out the singers.

He sent out the band.

2 Chronicles 20:21 says:

“He appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: ‘Praise the LORD, For His mercy endures forever.’”

Can you imagine that?

Not swords first.
Not strategy first.
Not fear first.

Worship first.

Praise first.

Trust first.

And as they praised, God moved mightily and completely defeated the enemy before them.

As I meditated on these scriptures, I was also reading a book that has deeply impacted me called Power in Praise by Merlin Carothers. Over and over, he writes about rejoicing always, giving thanks in everything, and praising God not because we understand the outcome, but because we trust the One who holds the outcome.

Not praise as manipulation.
Not praise as a formula.
But praise as surrender.

What overwhelmed me was this:

I’m currently on a Bible reading plan, and on this particular day I was in the very scriptures in 2 Chronicles that were speaking about Jehoshaphat and praise going before the battle. At the exact same time, the pages I was reading in Power in Praise were referencing those same scriptures to help grasp and understand this idea of praising God in all situations.

It stopped me in my tracks.

There was no coincidence in that moment.

It felt like a gentle but unmistakable assurance from the Lord:

“Keep praising Me. Keep trusting Me. I am with you.”

And honestly, that brought such peace to my heart.

Because praise is not rooted in outcomes.
Praise is rooted in who God is.

We praise Him because He is worthy.
Because nothing touches our lives without first passing through the Father’s hands.
Because even when we do not understand, we trust that He is working all things together for good and for His glory.

And so maybe today, before trying to solve everything… before trying to control every outcome… maybe the invitation is simply this:

Send out the band.

Worship before the victory.
Praise before the breakthrough.
Trust before understanding arrives.

Because the battle is not ours.

It is God’s

Psalm 34:1
“I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”