God my strength
Psa
18:1
I love
you, O LORD, my strength.
Such
a simple description: my strength. In a world that sees so
many people stressed, this must surely be a most important meditation.
What is stress? It is the inability to cope with the pressures of
life or work or family difficulties. The presence of stress means
that we have run out of personal resources that would enable us to
cope well. Stress means that we are being pushed further than our
physical resources can cope with. Stress means we are being pushed
beyond what our mental resources can cope with, and stress means we
are being pushed beyond what our emotional resources can cope with.
Oh yes, we mustn't forget one other area, stress is being pushed beyond
what our spiritual resources can cope with. But actually our lives
are one and all these interact within us – physical, mental, emotional
and spiritual. If we get ourselves into circumstances that are beyond
our God-designed resources, we are into stress.
I
have a busy day and the demands upon me may be many. I am at a time
of life when my physical strength and stamina
is not what it was when I was thirty years younger. Therefore I have
to be wiser in conserving what I have and the way I use it, but if
I believe my circumstances are God-given and God-guided, then like
the apostle Paul, I must trust that the Lord will provide my physical
strength: “I can do everything through him
who gives me strength.” (Phil 4:13). But the key here,
is checking that all the things I allow to come and make a call on
my life are things I believe are God sent. Sometimes I may have to
reject some things. I also need to ensure I have a healthy lifestyle
– healthy food, reasonable exercise and few late nights and early
mornings!
Then
there are difficulties to be overcome, problems to be solved, things
that challenge my mind, and I need mental strength
to be able to work at these without worry creeping in. Are these problems
my responsibility? Are they things the Lord wants me to deal with?
They appear to be things that require knowledge, wisdom, understanding
and possibly insight, things which God said Jesus would have (Isa
11:2) and so now, because Jesus lives in me, must be resources available
to me. All I have to do is commit it to him: “Do
not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of
God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and
your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:6,7). Ah,
look what is in there in the midst of that, a promise of peace, i.e.
emotional strength! How did that come about?
It came by turning to God, by seeking Him, and by pouring out my heart
to Him. Therein is spiritual strength. Yes,
He does live within us, but spiritual strength and stamina come by
conscious awareness of His presence, by seeking Him and finding Him
and knowing Him and finding that His glory is reflected in us (2 Cor
3:18).
Later
on in this Psalm 18 David says, “It is God
who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet
like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. He
trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.”
(v.32-34) There he links strength with the way ahead being
made perfect. When we are weak, we may stumble and fall, but with
God's strength we can walk or run steadily and surely (like the deer),
and we find a new strength there that enables us to fight the battles
that confront us. You can't explain His strength really, you just
ask for it, and then suddenly you realize you have it and step out
to do His will for your life and find you can do it; the strength
is there physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, and you
achieve His purposes!