Find your strong

Holiness moves through the small things, grace for the moments, simple and short. Added together, holy moments change lives and steer destinies in God’s direction. But it all comes down to attitudes and choices made…one moment at a time. If I reach for the grace of holiness in this moment, what difference could it make? (From One Simple Thing).

 What simple choices can become holy habits to give us strength when the day is hard and the night is long? What simple (not easy) ways can we overcome fear? We are continuing finding God’s strength in Psalm 46.

Who or what is your most high?

God has been reminding me that  joy and well-being cannot be tethered to the responses and approval of others. Security is elusive when it is based on circumstance or relationships. It cannot be tied to success and it can’t be rooted in the world’s systems or definitions. No person or situation can be a stable source of joy and strength. We are not made for that.

When we put our faith in the world’s mountains and false places of security, we are at the mercy of the roaring waters when they burst through the strongholds of our false gods.

P1020738

What we depend on, whether for joy or for strength, becomes our most high.

God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.

Whatever we are trying to draw life and stability from (apart from God) blocks the flow of God’s Spirit with in us. We will not know His very present help when we look to other solutions or try to fix our problems with our own resources. This doesn’t mean God won’t help, but what we learn and experience will be entirely different.

God will help and the sun will rise.

 

Sometimes, morning seems a long way off, but the sun always rises and morning always comes. Light is dawning and God is helping as we learn to trust Him.

He is our Lord of hosts and our strong place.

The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered;
He raised His voice, the earth melted.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold.

When the waters roar and foam, the rushing sound of anxiety stirs us up within. It is the inner striving that drowns out the gladness of God in our hearts, isn’t it?

Find your strong in the knowledge that God is with you.

There is very little God asks of us. He is the One who wins the wars, breaks the spears, burns the chariots. He is the One who overcomes everything that can come against us. Notice there is not one word about fighting our own battles here. Again, the focus is all on Him.

He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariots with fire.

What does God ask of us?  What is one way to find our strong in the moment we need it?

Find your strong when you come and behold the works of the Lord.

Come and behold the works of the Lord. –Psalm 46:8

What are you looking at? Are you looking at the problem, or are your eyes on the work God is doing? Come–be present with God. Come and behold His works, perceive and see what He is doing. God invites us to a front row seat to His action in our very own lives.

And when you can’t see what He is doing in the moment, stand in faith and remember what He has done in the past. Remind yourself again and again. Remind yourself as many times as it takes. Notice how many times the psalmist makes a bold statement of God’s strength and presence.

The psalmist shows us exactly how to keep our focus on God in the very writing of this psalm. He doesn’t just tell us what to do, he shows us as he writes out his heart as enemies gather against him. Though he cannot help but recognize the danger, the power of his words exalt God as his strength and help.

May God give us the ability to find our strong as we keep coming and keep beholding His work.

How can keeping presence with God and focusing on His work strengthen you in this moment?

 

Pin It on Pinterest