Our Source of Strength

This week, we have been focusing on the book of Psalms and seeing how God is our provision and how He hears us when we cry out to Him. Today we are looking at how God is our source of strength. When life is tough, and it frequently is, we need to remember that God is the One who is our source of strength. Let’s start our time together in prayer.

God, I cannot live an overcoming life without You. Thank You that You give me what I need to fight the battles in my life. When I am overwhelmed by what life brings, or when I can’t see a solution to my problems, please remind me that I am not alone. I can turn to a God who loves me and is victorious over anything I face. Thank You for being with me and being my Savior. Amen.

Psalm 18:1-19 (NLT)

¹ I love you, Lord;

    you are my strength.

² The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;

    my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.

He is my shield, the power that saves me,

    and my place of safety.

³ I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise,

    and he saved me from my enemies.
⁴ The ropes of death entangled me;

    floods of destruction swept over me.

⁵ The grave wrapped its ropes around me;

    death laid a trap in my path.

⁶ But in my distress I cried out to the Lord;

    yes, I prayed to my God for help.

He heard me from his sanctuary;

    my cry to him reached his ears.
⁷ Then the earth quaked and trembled.

    The foundations of the mountains shook;

    they quaked because of his anger.

⁸ Smoke poured from his nostrils;

    fierce flames leaped from his mouth.

    Glowing coals blazed forth from him.

⁹ He opened the heavens and came down;

    dark storm clouds were beneath his feet.

¹⁰ Mounted on a mighty angelic being, he flew,

    soaring on the wings of the wind.

¹¹ He shrouded himself in darkness,

    veiling his approach with dark rain clouds.
¹² Thick clouds shielded the brightness around him

    and rained down hail and burning coals.

¹³ The Lord thundered from heaven;

    the voice of the Most High resounded

    amid the hail and burning coals.
¹⁴ He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies;

    great bolts of lightning flashed, and they were confused.

¹⁵ Then at your command, O Lord,

    at the blast of your breath,

the bottom of the sea could be seen,

    and the foundations of the earth were laid bare.
¹⁶ He reached down from heaven and rescued me;

    he drew me out of deep waters.

¹⁷ He rescued me from my powerful enemies,

    from those who hated me and were too strong for me.

¹⁸ They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress,

    but the Lord supported me.

¹⁹ He led me to a place of safety;

    he rescued me because he delights in me.

One of the most difficult concepts for me to grasp in my relationship with God is that He isn’t asking me to become more independent of Him, but instead desires for me to be more dependent on Him. In my mind, it would make sense that the more I grow in my maturity as a Christian, the more God desires for me to solve my problems on my own. But the truth is so much more comforting; God wants me to continually rely on Him to be my protector, deliverer, savior, and my source of strength. David, the author of our verses today, understood these truths, and in the psalm we read today, David recognizes that it is only through God’s strength that he is victorious!

Do you believe that God cares about you and is a faithful God who can be your source of strength in the problems that you are facing? If you are struggling with this truth, hopefully David’s story will encourage you.  

At the point in which David wrote the psalm we read today, God had delivered David from the hands of his enemies. It had been about 20 years since the prophet Samuel had anointed David to be the future king of Israel. David spent most of those 20 years living as a fugitive and fighting for his life. Can you imagine the doubts that David must have had during those 20 years?  It was during those years that David continued to cling to God as his source of protection, provision, safety, and support. God did not ask David to fight his battles on his own, but to rely on Him for strength. That is our same calling, too.  

What is your normal rhythm when you are facing a difficult time in your life? Do you try to muster up the strength to fight your battles and solve your problems on your own? Or do you rely on God to be your source of strength?

You may be wondering: what does relying on God as your source of strength look like? David shows us that it means a few things:

• Recognizing you don’t have the ability to face the problem of your life on your own;
• Recognizing that God is an all powerful God that is victorious over our problems;
• Daily asking God to give you what you need for today (peace, patience, wisdom, endurance, rest, etc.);
• Trusting that God will be faithful to give you what you need;
• Praising Him for being a God who is faithful and present!

No one needs to convince us that we experience consistent battles in our lives. We must choose to cling to the One who is victorious over all things and wants to empower us to live an overcoming life. Take a few minutes to think about some problems you are facing in life.

Ask God to be your source of strength today as you face these problems.  

Thank Him in advance for being faithful!

May you be encouraged this week that you are not alone! You have a God who loves you and is with you always!