“The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.” (Psalm 28:7)
The Lord is everything. He is the strength of His people. He is our strength. He is our shield. The Lord is the source of our life and our defense against all that would harm us. David prays these things through Psalm 28 after having come close to death himself. It was not a rare thing for him to be near death! People were trying to kill David for much of his life. He knew that to be near death was to rely on nothing but the Lord’s grace and mercy.
There are times when we feel like we can’t keep going. It is precisely in these times that we stop and pray that the Lord would listen. He has promised to hear the prayers of His people. We see the Lord’s strength in our weakness. The ability to be brought low is a great skill which we learn throughout our lives (Philippians 4:12). We are filled with Christ when we are emptied. He called you as His living child in Holy Baptism, and continues to fill you with life through His Word. He is your everything, and sometimes, you realize this!
There is nothing shameful about being brought low. You do not need to be embarrassed of being empty. Rather, we rejoice in our own weakness, and celebrate the strength of Christ, who was emptied on the Cross, and raised from the dead by the glory of the Father so that we would walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4).
We have nothing to be frightened of if He is our strength and our shield. Nothing can harm Him, and so nothing can harm us, who are protected and enlivened by Christ. Do you sometimes feel that you can’t even begin to stand and walk? That’s okay. He is our shepherd and carries us forever!
Prayer
Lord, support us all day long, guide and strengthen. Evening comes, the world is hushed, Shadows lengthen, Work is done, life’s fevered pace now has ended; Christ, to You, our final rest is commended. Be our light in darkness, Lord, our defender; In Your presence perils all must surrender. Drive all dark satanic snares from each dwelling; Then, at peace, our hearts Your praise will be telling. Amen.
Stay encouraged!
Pastor Mike
