“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 ‭ESV‬‬


 “The Lord is my strength,” it doesn’t say my possessions, money, or a specific person. It simply states that the Lord is my strength.


But what does that mean? What does it look like in my daily life?


In Isaiah 40:29-31, it says, “He gives power to the faint and to him who has no might He increases strength…but they who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.”


Is His strength the courage to keep pushing forward when I feel like giving up? Is it the ability to keep my mouth shut when I want to defend myself against hurtful words? Is His strength found in the ability to keep getting back up no matter how many times I get knocked down? Perhaps it’s in each of these ways and more in some small way.


This verse also says, “The Lord is my shield,” and Psalm 3:3 declares, “But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.” This makes me think about the Shield of Faith mentioned in Ephesians 6:16. This Shield of Faith is what we need to take up daily, perhaps even minute by minute, to extinguish the darts the enemy throws at us.


These darts are doubt, discouragement, and defeat. I believe His strength helps us overcome the temptation to fall victim to the enemy’s lies as we hold up our shields and lean on the promises of the Lord.


As we trust in Him, He helps us. It doesn’t say He might help us; we are helped. Isaiah 41:10 says, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand,” and again in verse 13, “for I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, fear not for I am the one who helps you.”


Is it any wonder our hearts can leap for joy and we can praise Him with our song!


Surely, we can wholeheartedly embrace the words of Psalm 11:1, “In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, Flee like a bird to your mountain,” and Psalm 69:30, “I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.”


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