The Battle Belongs to the Lord
Did you know that the Bible clearly states that God actually casts our countenance down when we do evil and raises our countenance up when we do what God defines as good? See Genesis 4:3-8. There are exceptions to this up and down cast countenance like the book of Job, voluntary periods of solemn fasting, and our own ignorance as to what God defines as good. For example, even when our countenance is cast down because of the death of a loved one, we are still able to rejoice in the Lord always. That rejoicing praise is inhabited by Jesus, Psalms 22:3, who then eventually lifts us up out of a sorrowful since of loss, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 . King David also walked this out as a example for us to follow in Psalms 42:5-7. This means that for the most part, when our countenance is down-cast, we know there is something we have done to cause it. Likewise, when we are in the joy of the Lord, we are experiencing God's approval just like Able did for his sacrifice in Genesis ...