Tag: saving refuge

27.j. “I will strengthen you, I will help you”

Ephesians 3:16  that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 

 Psalms 28:8   The LORD is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed.

 Psalms 138:3   On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.

 2 Timothy 4:17    But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me,

 Isaiah 41:10     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.

 Ephesians 6:10    Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

The Lord is my strength, I will strengthen you, my strength of soul, strengthened with power, all speak of leaning on, accepting, and allowing God’s Strength in our lives.  If you have ever raised children or been around young children and you have seen them struggling with something, you offer or try to help and they say No I can do this myself, or I want to do this by myself. Even as adults we have all offered to help someone with a problem and they turn you down or flat out reject the offer of help.  If we are honest, I think we all have done this.  Sometimes we just need to work through the problem, find the solution, and get on the other side of it. But do we? We may know the person who wants to help us routinely takes shortcuts and their workmanship is not quite the same as ours.  We may know that they will hold it over our heads if we allow them to help.  We may know they will tell others of our lack of ability in an area they helped us in.  We may just have a bit of pride in us that says, “I can do this”, “I know how”, “I got it”, “I am smart enough”, “I am wise enough”, “I am strong enough”, “I am………”.  Whatever the reason we seem to turn away help.  Don’t get me wrong, there are times when we should turn from someone’s help. 

Do you ever think about how many times we reject God’s power, strength, might, wisdom, knowledge, love, peace, grace, mercy, refuge, fortress, shelter, shepherd, savior, redeemer, Heavenly Father,………?  He not only is willing and able, He also promises to be all of these in our lives. Year by year, month by month, week by week, day, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second, He offers us all of these and we turn away, stiffen our necks, harden our hearts, deafen our ears, and close our hearts and minds to His continued offers.  Why is this?  I fear it is because we do not live for God.  By this I mean where we do not develop hunger and thirst for His Word, desire and seek His continued presence, have no want to understand and know more of Him, and do not know want it means to honor and glorify Him in all we say think and do.  The shallowness of our commitments toward all of this most certainly will keep us from knowing about His grace, mercy, love, and promises.  We will not see our need for help and thereby we won’t ask for it.  We can start by intentionally choosing to live to honor and glorify Him in all we say and do.  We can start by thinking less about self, self-interests, and the busyness of life. We can start by repenting from our shallowness.  We can start right now.

Perfect in weakness

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Psalms 118:24  This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Zechariah 3:9  For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.

Psalms 84:10    For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Nehemiah 8:10     Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Psalms 28:7-8    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.  The LORD is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed.

Proverbs 17:22    A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Isaiah 12:1-3     You will say in that day: “I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me.  “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”  With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

2 Corinthians 8:2    for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.

Finding joy, peace and rest can be like chasing the wind if we look for it apart from Jesus Christ.  Yet it is hard yielding to laying it at His feet and solely trusting it to Him.  It shouldn’t be but many times it is.  We try to handle it in our own strength, ways, and quick fix solutions.

Yielding to His awesome love, power, might, wisdom, purpose, and plan all starts with trusting fully, without doubt, and faithfully waiting.  Joy, peace, and rest cannot be found in self-reliance or looking to others.  It is only found in a heart, mind, and soul yielded to and trusting in Jesus Christ.

Kicking and Screaming

“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. The LORD is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed.”

Psalms 86:16  Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant, and save the son of your maidservant. Show me a sign of your favor, that those who hate me may see and be put to shame because you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

Psalms 69:16     Answer me, O LORD, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.

Psalms 90:13     Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants!

Psalms 119:132    Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your way with those who love your name.

Psalms 84:5     Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

Psalms 138:3     On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.

Isaiah 40:29     He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.  Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;  but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Zechariah 10:12     I will make them strong in the LORD, and they shall walk in his name,” declares the LORD.

Ephesians 3:16     that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

Philippians 4:13     I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Why is it important to have the right source for inner strength?  Where does true inner strength come from? How does it appear in our life?  Living this side of eternity will have it’s battles.  Walking into these battles there are times we walk with God, times God carries us through them, and times when He drags us kicking and screaming through them.  In Him alone will there be strength to face whatever comes our way.  In Him we have no fear of tomorrow.  In Him there is peace that passes all understanding.  The times we walk with God to face head that which is before us are during times when His Holy Spirit fills us, we are listening and in tune with His leading, we walk fully trusting and relying on His power.  The times He is carrying us are during those times when life hits us with a punch so hard it takes the wind from our sail and we can’t seem to move or find out way through it.  He picks us up and carries us in His power, strength, might, and love.  His arms wrap around us and we find comfort, refuge, and hope.  The times He drags us is when we don’t listen, we shut Him from our life, we walk apart from Him and try to go our own way.  We think we are in control and have no need for Him or His word of truth.  It seems as though God drags us into a battle so big with so much uncertainty, where we truly can’t seem to find our way through it.  Our own strength is drained to a point we quit kicking and screaming and seek Him for we have tried to handle it on our own.  We find peace, hope, joy, and comfort.  I don’t know where you are but the best place to be is humbly serving, honoring, following, and obeying God.  Spend time in His word and build your faith in Him who can do all things. In Hi who can do more than we ask and much more than we can imagine.

All Things Are Possible

” But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

“But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.”

Psalms 27:1   The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.

Job 29:3   when his lamp shone upon my head, and by his light I walked through darkness,

Micah 7:7-8  But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

Malachi 4:2   But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall

.John 8:12   Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Isaiah 12:2   “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”

Isaiah 51:6-8   Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die in like manner; but my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will never be dismayed.  “Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear not the reproach of man, nor be dismayed at their revilings.  For the moth will eat them up like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool, but my righteousness will be forever, and my salvation to all generations.”

Psalms 62:6    He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.

Psalms 28:7-8  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.  The LORD is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed.

Philippians 4:13    I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

2 Corinthians 12:9   But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Sometimes I wonder if we think we will never see trials or troubles or have dark times or sickness.  Scripture is very clear that we will.  We are made whole in these times of weakness and when the issues we are facing are beyond our ability to have any influence.  Paul rested in weakness.  He feared not what God was asking him to do and say.  He saw the power of Christ through his weakness.  David proclaimed God as His strength, light, power, and salvation.  “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me”.  There surely is a darkness in the world.  This darkness looks not to God but rather to man.  Free choice allows us to choose the light or stay in darkness.  Free choice in the light of God gives us power, strength, hope, salvation, and the ability to do all things through Him.  Free choice to stay in darkness gives us false hopes, power, strength, and no hope of salvation.  We freely choose to open the door of our heart and mind to the light and power of God.  We freely choose to believe, listen, follow and obey.  I hear so much fear and hatred these days which does not reflect the light of God.  I wonder if God has given people a spirit of delusion in one last attempt to draw them out of the darkness.  Are you facing any darkness in your life?  Open the door to God and you will find rest, peace, power, and hope for your heart and soul and mind.