By Gina Caswell Kelly
The verse I sent this morning was from Nehemiah, which basically says, “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” It is a great verse of peace and comfort. I got to thinking about the strength of the Lord and how we can count on Him in tough times as well as in good times. The Lord’s strength is mighty and not to be messed with.
In Isaiah 52:10, Isaiah writes, “The Lord has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations, that all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our God.” Do you see the imagery here? God is flexing His muscle in front of the world. He is showing us His strength. The flexed muscle of God is a wondrous sight! He flexed His muscle when He created the world. He flexed His muscle when He destroyed the world through the flood. He again flexed His muscle when He sent the rainbow as His promise to care for the people of this world. He flexes His muscle daily in keeping His eye on us.
In Isaiah 54:10, Isaiah states, “For the mountains may be removed and the hills may be shaken, But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you. And My covenant of peace will not be shaken.” That is the picture of a very strong God! Even in the most violent of earthquakes, the Lord is not shaken. He is that strong!
Then, in Isaiah 58:8-9, Isaiah says, “Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.”
The Lord will be your rear guard! Another way of saying that is, “I got your back!” We say that to others occasionally when we want them to know we are standing with them. Well, here we find the Lord telling us He has our back! Wow! How comforting is that? And you call on Him and He will say, “Here I am!” Oh my goodness the strength of our Lord is an amazing thing!!
How often do you rest in the strength of this Savior? How often do you struggle and worry and get depressed over what is happening in your world and around you, when you would find so much more peace if you would rest in the strength of this One?
Don’t neglect turning to God for your peace. We so often want to just share with others everything going on in our lives, and there is nothing wrong with that. God sent us friends to help share our burdens. But never forget where true peace is found.
Turn to the Lord’s strength for your peace. He is flexing His muscle for you right now. He has your back! It is His strength that makes the difference!
