Mercy is the cornerstone and centerpiece of everything God has ever done in the earth. When God's people remind themselves of that mercy, it opens the door to all of heaven's power and resources.

That is just what we see happening in 2 Chronicles 20. God's people, led by King Jehoshaphat, were surrounded by powerful, hostile forces. They were greatly outnumbered and out-armed. To the natural eye, they surely seemed to be doomed.

In a time of fasting and prayer, God gave Jehoshaphat some instructions. God said, "The battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow go ye down against them. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you" (2 Chron. 20:15-17).

Once they heard this, Jehoshaphat and the Israelites began worshipping and praising God. The next morning Jehoshaphat consulted with the people then sent out praisers before the army. They faced the enemy in battle, being led not by their strongest troops but by the praise singers! "And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endures forever" (2 Chron. 20:21).

When you are faced with a life-and-death crisis, the most important thing you can remind yourself is that God's mercy endures forever. It will stir your faith. It will move you to tap in to the power of praise. It will bring God onto the scene to show Himself strong on your behalf.

That's precisely what happened in the case of Jehoshaphat. "And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten" (2 Chron. 20:22).

When you have the mercy of God directed at you, no power in hell can stand against you. When those praisers started singing out the mercy of God, they were, in effect, declaring to their enemy: "We are God's beloved, so you will leave us alone if you know what's good for you! Touch not the anointed of God!"

God's mercy will put your enemies to flight!
When the enemy of cancer seems to have surrounded you, God's mercy will cause Him to say to you, "I am the Lord that heal thee" (Ex. 15:26).

When financial lack tries to keep you in poverty, God's mercy speaks through Him, saying to you: "I will bless thee coming in, and I will bless thee going out. I will supply all your needs according to My riches in glory!" (Deut. 28:6; Phil. 4:19).

When rebellion tries to come against your children, the mercy of God says to you: "All thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children (Isa. 54:13).

Understanding and remembering God's mercy is a matter of life and death. A wrong conception of God is causing Christians to be killed every day.

Mercy and "the Presence"
An awareness of God's mercy is closely tied to His presence. If you want to experience the benefits of God's presence, you need to understand the depths of His mercy.

Reminding yourself of God's mercy and praising Him for it will bring His presence on the scene in a powerful way. God's mercy is linked to His presence. When Israel began to sing of God's goodness and mercy, God's presence became so strong that the priests couldn't stand up under it!

Few things will bring God's presence onto the scene faster in your life than to remind yourself of God's mercy and to start wholeheartedly praising Him for it. You can stand on the mercy of God.

Sweat Won't Get It
Now that you know what brings God's power and presence into your situation, you need to know what won't bring it in: namely, all your hard work.

Religion has taught a lot of believers about doing good works for God. If only they can do enough good works or spend enough hours reading their Bible, somehow they will have earned enough Brownie points with God to get Him to do something for them.

Even as a child of God, nothing you could do can make God love you anymore than He already does. His checed for you is complete and everlasting. In fact, it's an insult to God's mercy for you to think that any religious work you could possibly do would be enough to pay for what He has freely given you.

Good works are great. Fasting is beneficial. Reading the Word of God is essential to spiritual growth. But when you fall into the trap of thinking those things will earn you more favor with God, you have moved out of faith and into cold, dead religion.

God loves you. It's that simple. It's His mercy that brings Him into your toughest situations to save you from the consequences. Sweat doesn't bring in the presence of God. His presence comes as a result of His mercy.

Mercy Has It Covered
If you have not yet figured out that mercy plays a big role in everything God does, some words from Psalm 145 should remove all doubt: "The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works" (Ps. 145:8,9).

God's mercy is over all his works! Everything He does is based on mercy. When He heals you, it is because of His mercy. When He gives you the finances to pay a bill, it is because of mercy. Even your salvation - the act of being born again - is based on mercy.

Don't fall into the trap of thinking that just because you messed up and sinned you are disqualified from God's favor and mercy. On the contrary, you are a candidate for it! God's mercy is over all His works; and, as His child, you are one of His works. God's mercy will outlast your sin. If you fall, God's mercy will still be there. His love will be there. His kindness will be there. Get a revelation of this truth, and you will not want to sin. You will start hating the presence of sin in your life as much as God does.

Look Behind You
Many believers are under the impression that trouble is following them. They are talking about it all the time, saying things like, "It just seems that everything I do turns out no good," or "I never get a break; trouble just seems to follow me wherever I go." They may think this way, but it's a lie from the pit of hell!

The truth is, if you are a child of God, it is His mercy - not trouble - that is following you. Psalm 23:6 says so: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

Source: Answers Awaiting in the Presence of God by Creflo A. Dollar, Jr.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers