"I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies."
{Psalm 18:1-3}
But here's where my eyes were opened and where the overwhelming comfort came for me. His response in the next 9 verses or so are filled with so much emotion that the entire earth is shaken and changed because God's children (me and you) are in distress and being persecuted. Our God, the Creator of the Universe, the Father of everything, feels this strongly for you and I EVERY time our hearts break, EVERY time we cry, EVERY time a bad report comes, EVERY time a friend hurts you, EVERY time, EVERY TIME! I know for me, when I hurt, I almost feel like I am bothering God, especially if it's the 27th time I have cried out to Him for the same thing in the past hour, but it doesn't matter if it's the first time or the 151st time, a diagnosis of cancer or a lost set of keys, our heartaches are His heartaches, our pains are His pains. It's NEVER a bother to Him, it's NEVER too small to concern Him, it's NEVER too "dumb" or pointless. He wants to hear it all and wants to be the one we run to EVERY time so that He can react the way that He does below and provide for His children.
"In my distress I called upon the Lord to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry. Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him. He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet. He rode on a cherub and flew; he came swiftly on the wings of the wind. He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him, thick clouds dark with water. Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds. The Lord also thundered in the heavens and the Most High uttered his voice hailstones and coals of fire. And he sent out his arrows and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings and routed them. Then the channels of the sea were see and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils."
{Psalm 18:6-15}
The passage goes on to explain how the Lord rescues us from the enemy, but also how He prepares us to fight in the battle. He tells us in John that we WILL have trouble, but to take heart for He has overcome the world. Here, He tells us how He will prepare us to fight and to stand WITH Him as we fight against the enemy that rages for our lives. I know so many times in my own life, I don't feel strong enough to even stand, let alone to fight. BUT reading this passage tonight reminded me of how strong I truly am, not because of the woman I am, but because of the woman God has made me to be through Him. My flesh, could never fight the battles I am fighting right now and the battles I believe I will enter as I first get closer to leaving, then in Africa, and ultimately for the rest of my time on this earth. I myself am not strong enough for any of it, but I am stronger today than I was yesterday, and I will be even stronger tomorrow because of the power of Christ that is alive in me. My journey will not be an easy one, and I know that the battle in the spiritual realm surrounding this trip has already grown extremely fierce. But I also know that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is alive in me and while I may not know how to wield that power just yet, the Creator of the Universe is teaching me more every day and the doubt I have in my own abilities is decreasing as He is increasing.
