Hold His Gaze Week One
The Lord is my strength and my song.
“The LORD is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.” Psalm 118:14 (NLT)
I’ve read stories about a superhero-type of strength that kicks in when a mother needs to protect her child from harm's way. From battling a polar bear to protect her family, pulling apart the jaws of a shark to release her child from the death grip, or lifting a 1.1-ton car off of a child pinned to the ground, these moms experienced what is known as “hysterical strength”. The power to take on the danger before them activates in high-risk situations through a surge of adrenaline and a high need of survival. When moms look back at the situation, they tend to laugh in amazement (hint the name “hysterical”) at what they did in a time that felt like life or death. I have also gone through hard seasons and wonder in amazement how I made it through. As Christians we know God created our bodies and provided us with fascinating response mechanisms to get us through our time of need.
The psalmist in Psalm 118 wrote of a time when he experienced strength that was not his own; he was able to cut down his enemies who “swarmed him like bees,” around him. He knew that without God’s strength encouraging his heart, he would not have been able to take on the threats before him. We know this world is full of enemies, problems, unjust circumstances, and pain that swarms us like bees. Despite what the world will try to rob from us, draining our strength, dragging us through the muck of earthly living, our Lord provides us with just the opposite. Like the moms who experience “hysterical strength,” God infuses our hearts with His strength, and we experience “God’s strength.” We are able to muster up endurance when we remember we are not alone and become empowered as we remember the hope and promises found only in the Lord. When we experience the Lord in our weak places, we can keep pressing forward, knowing our hearts have been strengthened by Him.
Instead of being overcome by hysterics, we sing out in praise as we look back and see the Lord’s handprints over our battles. When we take to heart how the Lord is our personal strength to lean on, we overflow with gratitude and deep devotion for the ways He provides in our time of need. The Lord is a tender melody that continually plays in our spirit, beckoning us towards a relationship with Him. May we go to Him, our Strength and our Song.
Hold His gaze, sweet friend.
Breath prayer: Breathe in: The Lord is Breathe out: my strength and my song
Further reading: Exodus 15:2 (Wednesday) / Isaiah 12:2 (Friday) (You can use your journaling and SOAP pages to dig deeper)
Journal Reflection: Ponder this week’s promise and make time to be still in His presence. Reflect on how grateful you are that the Lord is your personal strength and song.
If you share on social media how God is working in your heart through this study, make sure to use #holdhisgaze and tag me @myjarsofclay. Or feel free to reply in this email or comment here!
