Tag: strengthens me

42.k.. “Let My People Go” – 10.h. Praise and Rejoicing

 

Exodus 15:1  Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying, “I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

Revelation 15:3   And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!

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

Exodus 15:6  Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy. In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.

 1 Chronicles 29:11-12    Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all.  Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.

Exodus 15:11  “Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? 

Jeremiah 10:6   There is none like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is great in might.

Exodus 15:18  The LORD will reign forever and ever.”

 Daniel 7:27    And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’

 Daniel 4:3     How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation.

This song is the most ancient we know of. It is a holy song, to the honour of God, to exalt his name, and celebrate his praise, and his only, not in the least to magnify any man. Holiness to the Lord is in every part of it. It may be considered as typical, and prophetical of the final destruction of the enemies of the church. Happy the people whose God is the Lord. They have work to do, temptations to grapple with, and afflictions to bear, and are weak in themselves; but his grace is their strength. They are often in sorrow, but in him they have comfort; he is their song. Sin, and death, and hell threaten them, but he is, and will be their salvation. The Lord is a God of almighty power, and woe to those that strive with their Maker! He is a God of matchless perfection; he is glorious in holiness; his holiness is his glory. His holiness appears in the hatred of sin, and his wrath against obstinate sinners. It appears in the deliverance of Israel, and his faithfulness to his own promise. He is fearful in praises; that which is matter of praise to the servants of God, is very dreadful to his enemies. He is doing wonders, things out of the common course of nature; wondrous to those in whose favour they are wrought, who are so unworthy, that they had no reason to expect them. There were wonders of power and wonders of grace; in both, God was to be humbly adored. (Henry)

What a song of worship and praise to God. A song pinned out of humbleness and gratitude. A song reflecting the pureness of raw worship and praise. A simple song with such depth and emotion that comes with a heart-felt presence of God. A song that reflects praise and worship, God’s power, God’s judgment, God’s love, and God’s holiness. 

I love old hymns. You can tell people have written them with like hearts and minds. They are songs of thanksgiving, worship, hope, and praise. If you ever get a chance to acquire a hymnal, do it. Read the heartfelt songs in them. Feel the presence of God in these people’s lives. Just because you are not gifted in music or poetry talent does not mean you can’t join in on the praise and worship in them. Your heart and mind certainly can joyfully join in this praise and worship as the writer has expressed. 

Let your hearts and minds proclaim the greatness, awesome power, and love of God, though they are pinned by another.

36.o. ““I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless”

 

 

Genes9s 17:1  When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.

 Genesis 18:14    Is anything too hard for the LORD?

 Deuteronomy 10:17    For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.

 Job 11:7   “Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?

 Psalms 115:3    Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.

 Jeremiah 32:17    ‘Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.

 Daniel 4:35   all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”

 Matthew 19:26    But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

 Ephesians 3:20    Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,

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

God’s first words to Abram made an introduction and a declaration of His being. By this name El Shaddai (God Almighty), God revealed His Person and character to Abram. After the proclamation of His name El Shaddai, God then told Abram what was expected of him. It was first revelation and then expectation. This communicates the principle that we can only do what God expects of us when we know who He is, and we know it in a full, personal, and real way. The word blameless means “whole”. God wanted all of Abram, a total commitment. (Guzik)

Note the revelation of God’s character, and of our consequent duty, which preceded the repetition of the covenant. ‘I am the Almighty God.’ The aspect of the divine nature, made prominent in each revelation of Himself, stands in close connection with the circumstances or mental state of the recipient. So when God appeared to Abram after the slaughter of the kings, He revealed Himself as ‘thy Shield’ with reference to the danger of renewed attack from the formidable powers which He had bearded and beaten. In the present case the stress is laid on God’s omnipotence, which points to doubts whispering in Abram’s heart, by reason of God’s delay in fulfilling His word, and of his own advancing years and failing strength. Paul brings out the meaning of the revelation when he glorifies the faith which it kindled anew in Abram, ‘being fully assured that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform’ {Romans 4:21}. Whenever our ‘faith has fallen asleep’ and we are ready to let go our hold of God’s ideal and settle down on the low levels of the actual, or to be somewhat ashamed of our aspirations after what seems so slow of realisation, or to elevate prudent calculations of probability above the daring enthusiasms of Christian hope, the ancient word, that breathed itself into Abram’s hushed heart, should speak new vigour into ours. ‘I am the Almighty God-take My power into all thy calculations, and reckon certainties with it for the chief factor. The one impossibility is that any word of Mine should fail. The one imprudence is to doubt My word.’

What follows in regard to our duty from that revelation? ‘Walk before Me, and be thou perfect.’ Enoch walked with God; that is, his whole active life was passed in communion with Him. The idea conveyed by ‘walking before God’ is not precisely the same. It is rather that of an active life, spent in continual consciousness of being ‘naked and opened before the eyes of Him to whom we have to give account.’ That thrilling consciousness will not paralyse nor terrify, if we feel that we are not only ‘ever in the great Task-Master’s eye,’ but that God’s omniscience is all-knowing love, and is brought closer to our hearts and clothed in gracious tenderness in Christ whose ‘eyes were as a flame of fire,’ but whose love is more ardent still, who knows us altogether, and pities and loves as perfectly as He knows.

What sort of life will spring from the double realisation of God’s almightiness, and of our being ever before Him? ‘Be thou perfect.’ Nothing short of immaculate conformity with His will can satisfy His gaze. His desire for us should be our aim and desire for ourselves. The standard of aspiration and effort cannot be lowered to meet weakness. This is nobility of life-to aim at the unattainable, and to be ever approximating towards our aim. It is more blessed to be smitten with the longing to win the unwon than to stagnate in ignoble contentment with partial attainments. Better to climb, with faces turned upwards to the inaccessible peak, than to lie at ease in the fat valleys! It is the salt of life to have our aims set fixedly towards ideal perfection, and to say, ‘I count not myself to have apprehended: but . . .I press toward the mark.’ Toward that mark is better than to any lower. Our moral perfection is, as it were, the reflection in humanity of the divine almightiness. To possess God is only possible on condition of yielding ourselves to Him. When we give ourselves up, in heart, mind, and will, to be His, He is ours. When we cease to be our own, we get God for ours. The self-centred man is poor; he neither owns himself nor anything besides, in any deep sense. When we lose ourselves in God, we find ourselves, and being content to have nothing, and not even to be our own masters or owners, we possess ourselves more truly than ever, and have God for our portion, and in Him ‘all things are ours.’ (MacLaren)

To walk before God is to set him always before us, and to think, and speak, and act in every thing as those that are always under his eye. It is to have a constant regard to his word as our rule, and to his glory as our end, in all our actions. If we neglect him or dissemble with him, we forfeit the benefit of our relation to him. (Benson)

28.u. “For I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content”

 

Philippians 4:11   Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

 Genesis 28:20   Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,

 Matthew 6:31-34    Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

 Hebrews 13:5-6   Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

 1 Timothy 6:6-9   But godliness with contentment is great gain,  for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.  But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.  But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

How do we know contentment, happiness, satisfaction, fulfillment, peace in all circumstances? Where is it to be found? How is it demonstrated? When our circumstances place us in a time of prosperity and plenty we think this is how and where we find contentment. Not true at all.  Ease of life, prosperity, abundance, peace, and comfort is no guarantee of contentment.  In fact, it is where neglect and complacency of God’s Word, more times than not, takes place in our lives. Think about a trial or troubled time in your life.  Did you grow closer to God and seek Him more fervently?  Was your trust and belief in Him alone firm and trusting?  Did you come to a place where you were beyond self-reliance or reliance on others and placed your heavy burden into His hands, relying on Him alone? Did you experience contentment and peace placing it in His hands?   Godly contentment, happiness, satisfaction, fulfillment, and peace are not based on the circumstances of life.  They reside in our hearts and minds. It is when we surrender and yield our lives, days, minutes, and seconds of every day to the will and purpose of God, knowing and trusting in Him alone, and where we live seeking and desiring all we think, say, and do for the single purpose of honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ, is where we find contentment.  Paul learned it.  He lived trusting God was in total control of everything.  Whatever situation, in plenty and in want, Jesus strengthened Him. If our commitment is shallow and surrender of self to the purpose and will of God each day is non-existent, we will find ourselves missing out on contentment, happiness, fulfillment, satisfaction, and peace.

28.d. ““Be strong; fear not!”

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

 Deuteronomy 20:3-4    and shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them,  for the LORD your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’

 Joshua 1:6-7    Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.  Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.

 1 Chronicles 28:20   Then David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the LORD God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the LORD is finished.

 Isaiah 35:3-4   Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.  Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

 Isaiah 40:31    but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength

 1 Corinthians 16:13   Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

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

 Colossians 1:11    being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;

Be strong, let not your heart faint, be courageous, do not be afraid, fear not, He will come and save you, wait for the Lord, stand firm, Him who strengthens me ….. in what, for what reason, and why does scripture remind and exhort us continually? It is common for every one of us, no matter how mentally and physically strong we are to become weakened by a single event or over time by life’s endless way of burdening us.  We are going through life with strength and purpose and then all of a sudden we notice that strength we once had, that faithful hope we once relied upon, and that solid foundation we stood upon, is severely weakened or absent and we no longer find peace, joy, strength, and courage.  This happens and I am not sure what is worse, getting blindsided with a punch in the gut or just slowly losing all strength and courage.  When blindsided at least there is an event we can put things into perspective but when there is a continually wearing down of our foundational strength it seems this is worse.  Life has a way of, abruptly or over time, lessening our resolve, strength, confidence, and courage.  Battles we easily overcame now seem to be defeating us.  Could it be we are strong in many areas of our life and God is just showing us and leading us and teaching us that there is still more refining in us that needs to be done?  Could it be we have become neglectful or complacent? Could it be we have chosen to follow worldly passions over Godly pursuits?  Could it be we have hardened our hearts and minds to the things of God?  Whatever the reason our eyes need to focus on Jesus and our hope strengthened in Him alone.  When our hope is in His strength, power, and love, and we have surrendered all hope and trust in ourselves, it is then we will become strengthened, encouraged, and full of hope.  When we are weak He is strong.

Why do you doubt?

Genesis 18:14  Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.”

Numbers 11:23     And the LORD said to Moses, “Is the LORD’s hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.”

Deuteronomy 7:21     You shall not be in dread of them, for the LORD your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God, nothing can hinder the LORD

1 Samuel 14:6   Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the LORD will work for us, for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few.”

Job 42:2     “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

Psalms 93:1    The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed; he has put on strength as his belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.

Jeremiah 32:17     ‘Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.

Micah 7:18     Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.

Matthew 3:9     And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.

Matthew 14:31    Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Matthew 19:26     But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

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

Ephesians 3:20     Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,

Luke 1:37     For nothing will be impossible with God.”

When you read words like;  “Nothing is impossible with God,” “He is able to do far more than all that we ask and think,” “God is able,”  “God, nothing is too hard for You”, ” why do you doubt,” do you feel a bit like your faith is not living up to what God can do?  In some ways this is to be expected for we do not understand the “limitless power of God”.  When we come to a situation in our life where all of our being clings to, relies on, and trusts in God, we still are limited by our finite understanding and knowledge of God.  This does not limit what God can do.

Even if we try to think of all the possible things God can do, we would not barely scratch the surface of what He is able to do.

Why to we fret?  Why do we worry? Why are we anxious? Why do we doubt? Why do we put limits on what we think God can and will do? Why do we fear?  Why do we get upset?  Are these indicators of our thinking of what we think God can do in our lives and situations?    

Is it possible we have limited thinking on what God can do because we spend limited time with Him.  We may give him the courtesy Sunday morning nod and maybe even a christian radio station on in the car but is there more substance to our walk than this?  Are these turning into a performance “check the box” kind of things and not really living and experiencing a faith filled daily walking together relationship with God.

Having a mind set on being in the presence of God throughout the day is much different than a “touch base with God” on and off during the week.  Walking with Him throughout the day is a choice.  This is similar to the choice to learn more of Him and from Him.  It is a choice to hear Him whisper into your life.  It is a choice to call on Him, to thank Him, to worship Him, to rely on Him, to wait for His leading, to follow Him, to obey Him, and to serve Him.

We will never approach seeing His mighty hand at work or doing the impossible unless we are in the presence of God, with faith leading our heart, mind, and soul closer and closer to Him.   

Walk in His strength

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.”

“ I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

“come, let us walk in the light of the LORD.”

“For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.”

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,”

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

“Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.”

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

Psalms 68:34   Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies.  Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!

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

Isaiah 45:24     “Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him.

2 Timothy 2:1     You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus,

1 John 1:6     If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

Our life path takes us through times of trials and testing.  It is hard say “I will not fear”, or “I will not be dismayed”, or “I will walk in His light”, while going through them.  It seems as though we are being crushed and blessings of peace, joy, hope, power, strength, and love are just words with no meaning. Yet on the other side of these times of trials and testing we see more clearly how the strength, power and hand of God carried us through.  I am amazed at how God works and how He seems to send the right person(s) into our life at the right time, when we need that help, encouragement, and word of God’s promises spoken into our life.  Stay in His word, listen for His whispers of direction, and be ever ready to be used by Him to help others.

Prayer to Praise

“Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life.”

“For he has delivered me from every trouble”

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

Psalms 54:1   O God, save me by your name, and vindicate me by your might.  O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth.

Psalms 26:1  Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.

Psalms 43:1  Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people, from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me!  For you are the God in whom I take refuge;

Psalms 55:1-2   Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!  Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and I moan,

Psalms 28:7    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.

Psalms 140:7    O LORD, my Lord, the strength of my salvation, you have covered my head in the day of battle.

Exodus 15:2    The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

Isaiah 40:31   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 6:10   Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

We all come up against trials and troubles throughout this life.  We can take note of David and how he brought these trials before God, almost like a complaint, but he always ends in praise proclaiming God’s love, mercy, might, strength and his faith in it.  Acknowledging our trials and troubles to God, our heavenly Father, should be natural.  Likewise we should have continual praise for Him and proclaiming our faith in His power, might, sovereignty, strength, love, mercy, and grace.  Try this for a week.  Read His word for 5 minutes each day and highlight His promises.  These promises are your building blocks for praise because not only do we see what He has done but what He is doing and will do.  Take your problems to Him and lay them in His hands.  Trust in His promises to never leave you or forsake you, to have steadfast love for you, to be your strength, your rock, your power, your refuge, your joy, your peace, and your hope.  In Him you will find rest and reason for hope.