My Strength And Shield

March 14, 2017

My Strength And Shield

“The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart.”

Psalm 28:7

Jesus taught his disciples “with God everything is possible” (Matthew 19:26).  Sometimes our faith is tested because we do not see answers to our prayers. Can we still believe, even though we do not see? The writer of the letter to the Hebrews makes clear that faith is the unwavering determination to trust God, to believe God, even when we do not see the results we want. “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1).

Because God is the Lord of the impossible, bringing life out of death, bringing success out of apparent failure, we can look at seemingly impossible circumstances and choose the way of the psalmist: “The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart” (v.7).

In the first portion of this psalm, David seems overwhelmed with the corruption of society. He steadfastly believes in the judgment of God and does not want to be caught up in God’s judgment of the wicked. As David prayed to the Lord, his rock, he asked for mercy. Then in the midst of his lament his prayer for mercy turns into a prayer of praise, “Praise the Lord! For he has heard my cry for mercy” (v.6). What caused his change?

I believe the Apostle Paul helps us understand this change. In Romans 8: 15-16 Paul writes, “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.”

When we come to God in faith, God participates in our prayers. God’s Spirit bears witness to our spirit and God’s Spirit thus helps us stand firm in our faith, even when our circumstances have not changed. With the Spirit’s help we trust God with our lives. Thank God for the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise. He did not leave us alone.

I will not abandon you as orphans—

I will come to you.

But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—

that is, the Holy Spirit—

he will teach you everything

and will remind you of everything I have told you.

“I am leaving you with a gift—

peace of mind and heart.

And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give.

So don’t be troubled or afraid.

John 14: 19, 26-27

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.