Sunday Scripture

The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
and with my song I praise him.
Psalm 28:7 NIV

Finding Strength in My Struggles

All throughout the Psalms, we see a man who struggled with fear of his enemies, the betrayal of his friends, and the selfish sin of his own heart. Yet King David knew where to go with all of it.

He took his fears, his sorrow, and his greatest downfalls to the only One who could rescue him from danger, despair, and destruction.

And in God’s presence we see a man who was gut-wrenchingly honest, vulnerable, and willing to bare his soul before his maker, knowing he was known, loved, and listened to.

Instead of leaning on his own limited strength and man-made strategies, King David poured out his heart and eventually placed his trust in the Lord, again and again.

In Psalm 28:7, we see King David finding strength in his greatest struggles by thanking God for being all he needed, before his needs were met. His dependence and gratitude gave birth to courage and faith.

Matthew Henry’s Commentary encourages us to observe:

“His dependence upon God: ‘The Lord is my strength, to support me, and carry me on, through all my services and sufferings. He is my shield, to protect me from all the malicious designs of my enemies against me. I have chosen him to be so, I have always found him so, and I expect he will still be so.’
His experience of the benefits of that dependence: ‘My heart trusted in him, and in his power and promise; and it has not been in vain to do so, for I am helped, I have been often helped; not only God has given to me, in his due time, the help I trusted to him for, but my very trusting in him has helped me, in the mean time, and kept me from fainting.’ (Psalm 27:13) The very actings of faith are present aids to a dropping spirit, and often help it at a dead lift.”

In his fears, God became David’s shield of faith. In his worries, David found a reason to worship. By remembering the Lord’s faithfulness in the past, he found a song of strength and hope for the days ahead.

How can God’s faithfulness in the past help you trust Him today with your present and future circumstances?