God is Our Strength

The journey from emotional turmoil to spiritual serenity to Godly joy

Psalm 60:
v.3 You have shown Your people hard things; You have made us to drink the wine of bewilderment [sorrow].

At times in our spiritual walk, the things we hear from God are not all joy and light. There is some hard work that we have to roll up our sleeves and dig in to accomplish. Sometimes it involves walking with a brother or sister in Christ through some challenging times, but often it is simply grungy housework in the part of the temple we are responsible for cleaning. Remember, we did come into our new Christian life with a load of habits, thought patterns, behaviors, viewpoints, and preferences tainted by the world and our carnal mind, and they can be so deeply entrenched we don't always recognize them for what they are until God shines the light of His Word and Spirit on them.

God is patient. He works with us because He loves us and finds intrinsic value in us. We are His creation, after all, and "God don't make junk." But He is holy, and His righteousness does not allow deliberate, on-going sin to persist in His presence. By the grace of Jesus, who intercedes for us day and night, we are wooed and drawn by His love to move closer and come nearer the radiant throne of God. He does not measure how far we are from Him, He only cares if we are moving closer to Him, shedding our old life, or drawing away from Him, clinging to our "rights" and "expectations" and "privileges" that we don't want to give up.

v.4 You have given a warning [a banner] to them that fear You: that they may flee from before the bow: That Your beloved may be delivered.

To draw near to God is to leave behind a different master. We are never strong enough at any point in our lifetime to stand on our own, in charge of our own destiny; we always have spiritual powers influencing us, and there are only two sides to choose from. As we turn to God, we will encounter resistance from our old ways. As we move closer to God, we may face battles in areas we never thought likely. God watches over His own and will not allow any who persist, who endure, who continually strive against the oppression, to ever be lost. He places His banner of love over us, warning all who see it that He is our defense. He shelters us during the storm's turmoil, and He equips us with armor to shield us from the darts of the enemy.

However, just as a caterpillar, in order to change into a butterfly, must struggle free of the cocoon, so we must travel the distance that is laid before us. The process of pushing through, enduring to the end, climbing the mountain, strengthens our faith as God supplies each need. It also develops our character as we drop the baggage of our old life, and the person of Jesus is developed in our thoughts and words and deeds.

v.5 Save [us] with Your powerful hand, and answer us so that those who are dear to You may be rescued.

Any battles we come through successfully, any struggles we gain the victory over, any temptations we resist without failing, are won by the strength of the Word of God which has been made real to our hearts through reading and meditation, and by the power of the Spirit of God that we have embraced by prayer and obedience in our lives. As we turn more and more areas of our lives over to the Lordship of Christ to control and use as He chooses, we cease from our struggles to create answers, our efforts to achieve goals, our attempts to earn God's approval and favor. This brings us into the quiet, trustful, rest where our spirits are calmed and filled with the serenity of His love. At that point, we can see as at no other the height and depth and breadth of His love for us.

Psalm 60
v.11 Give us help against the adversary, for the help of man is vain.

Our first thought is often to turn to the arm of flesh, the sources we can see and hear and feel and measure. But as we gain understanding, (which comes from experience, and that comes from poor choices!) we realize that only the immeasurable love of God can adequately meet our needs and rescue us from the mire we often find ourselves in. When we have nowhere to turn, give God praise for His love and lift your worship from your heart to His. He will always answer the request of one who recognizes there is no other source but God for the needs in our lives.

v.12 Through God we shall do mightily: and he shall bring to nothing them that afflict us.

Whatever struggle, whatever obstacle, whatever obstruction that you face in your immediate life, turn to God for all that you need. He is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. He is the One who does valiantly. He is the One who makes us more than conquerors. He does not take us out of the struggle, but He goes through the battle with us. The powers that oppose us are the ones that oppose God, and He will have all knees bow before Him and all voices confess His supremacy. The end is certain - we need only stay focused on God, and He will lead us step by step to the victory that He has promised and the joy of eternal fellowship with One who loves us more than we can imagine.

Father God, Almighty, All-Knowing, and All-Present, we confess You as our turning point, our sign post, our guiding light in our journey and our battle. Though beset on all sides at times, we know that You are all we need, and we praise You in the struggle as readily as we worship You in the calm. You know our being, our frame, our strength, and You draw the boundaries that keep us from being overwhelmed. We trust You and rest in You, Lord, for You draw us aside when we can go no further, and provide times of refreshing, streams in the desert, that empower us to do more that we ever knew possible, but that we know is not of ourselves, but of You.

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