7 Ways God Proves He Is My Source of Strength

August 15, 2017 Year A

Psalm 28:1-9

1. God listens (Psalm 28:1-2)

“Lord, I call to you; my rock, do not be deaf to me. If you remain silent to me, I will be like those going down to the Pit. Listen to the sound of my pleading when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your holy sanctuary.” (Psalm 28:1–2, CSB)

Here, David calls out to God. In the police dramas, when a suspect is handcuffed by the police, they give them what is known as the “Miranda” rights. One of those rights is to remain silent. When I call out to God, I can give Him the “Me-ranter” rights. When I call out to God, when I “ranter” out to Him, He must listen.

The fact that God listens to my “ranters” is a source of strength to me. One of those reasons is therapeutic. I can “rant” off to Him. He can take my rants and listen to them.

2. God keeps (Psalm 28:3)

“Do not drag me away with the wicked, with the evildoers, who speak in friendly ways with their neighbors while malice is in their hearts.” (Psalm 28:3, CSB)

God keeps me separate from the wicked. God can distinguish between the righteous and the wicked. He can determine who is the wheat and the chaff. He knows the difference between His sheep and the goats. God shows that He is my source of strength when He doesn’t “drag me away” with the wicked.

3. God repays (Psalm 28:4-5)

“Repay them according to what they have done— according to the evil of their deeds. Repay them according to the work of their hands; give them back what they deserve. Because they do not consider what the Lord has done or the work of his hands, he will tear them down and not rebuild them.” (Psalm 28:4–5, CSB)

God repays the righteous by repaying evil back to the wicked. God doesn’t action show financial strength by helping me win the lottery when I am down. He prevents more financial damage to me by giving the wicked back what they deserve. Some call that “karma.” But the Bible calls it repayment.

4. God answers (Psalm 28:6)

“Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard the sound of my pleading.” (Psalm 28:6, CSB)

God doesn’t just listen to my prayers for strength. He answers them. The psalmist shows that God has “heard the sound of my pleading.” The psalmist knows that God has received his prayer and the psalmist is expecting God to answer. The reason we know this is because the way God answers this prayer is by providing help, as we see in the next verse.

5. God helps (Psalm 28:7)   

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart celebrates, and I give thanks to him with my song.” (Psalm 28:7, CSB)

God gives me strength by helping. I trust that He will answer and He does. God helps. How does God help the psalmist is not known. However, the psalmist knows from experience that God helps. The same is true for you and me. Our experiences of God’s help may differ from person to person, yet we all have examples of where God helped us. This “knowing” that God helps (or faith) provides the strength we need.

6.  God supports (Psalm 28:8)

“The Lord is the strength of his people; he is a stronghold of salvation for his anointed.” (Psalm 28:8, CSB)

God is my “stronghold.” He is my support system. Like a pillar of a building, God supports me. The salvation I have in Jesus Christ provides me with a spiritual support system. The church provides me with a relational support system. God strengthens me with a wide variety of supports.

7. God cares (Psalm 28:9)

“Save your people, bless your possession, shepherd them, and carry them forever.” (Psalm 28:9, CSB)

I am not only a child of God, I am also God’s possession. He cares for me. The psalmist ends with four ways in which God cares for me.

FOUR WAYS GOD CARES FOR ME AND GIVES ME STRENGTH

1. God saves me

The first way God cares for me is by giving me eternal salvation. He shows He cares by giving up His Son Jesus to save me from sin.

2. God blesses me

The second way God cares for me is that He blesses me. What does this mean? It means that God doesn’t just provide the minimum care for me. He “showers” me with more than enough. His grace is sufficient. His power is majestic. In every way that God decides to care for me, He does it at 100%.

3. God shepherds me

The third way God cares for me is by shepherding me or leading me. I don’t have to worry about every decision in life to just survive. I can trust that God will provide for me. He will lead me. That relieves me of much stress in my life when I realize that “God’s got this.”

4. God carries me

The fourth way God cares for me is that He carries me. There are times when I don’t even have the strength to stand, much less follow God. It is during these times, that God carries me along. The ultimate test of my faith is whether I will let God carry me when I know that I don’t have the strength to go on.

Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash