Psalm 138:3 says, “In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul.” Years ago one of my pastors gave me a little note. Be bold, and strength will fill your soul.

God told Joshua to be strong and courageous. Joshua 1:6, 7, 9. Verse 9 says, “…for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua was the new leader of the children of Israel. He was in charge of countless folks. 

Colossians 1:11 says, “Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy.”  Ephesians 3:16 Amplified says, “May He grant you out of the rich treasure of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the (Holy) Spirit (Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality).”

It is God’s strength that empowers us moment by moment to do the things He has called us to do.

Psalm 138:2 says, “…for You have magnified Your word above all Your name.” As I was memorizing this part of the verse, my mind wandered to His name. Think about this. Philippians 2:10 says, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…” We know from Acts 4:12 that there is no other name, “…given among men by which we must be saved.”

Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” Think of these names. Isaiah 9:6 says, “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

When God magnifies His word, He is lifting it up to overarch all else. He declares it as the greatest in superiority. It is to be an essential priority in our lives. 

Isaiah 26:3 says “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” Trust is resting in Him. I love the definition of rest in Hebrews 4:10. It says, “For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.”

Releasing

Everything

Simply

Trusting

Cease from self-effort, as in trying to figure it out, doing things in our own strength, worrying, fretting, or being anxious. Fear is a normal reaction when facing sudden danger. That is how we are created ~ fight, flight, or freeze. 

However, when we remain in anxiety even though there is no danger, our sympathetic remains in high gear creating stress and  disease. We manage out of control stress by keeping our thoughts on Who God is at all times. He is Present, All Powerful, and All Knowing. He is in control of all things.

Philippians 4:6 says, “Be anxious for nothing. but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” The fruit is in verse 7. If we release our anxiety to the Lord, “…the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Anxiety results when our thoughts are focused on our inadequacy rather than God’s ability. The truth is that self-effort always fails in the end. Asa recognized how powerless they were. He cried out to the only One who could intervene.

Anxiety often begins with just one thought. If we entertain that thought, physical feelings will emerge. Our sympathetic nervous system kicks into fight or flight. However at the moment of feeling anxiety, we can quell it through thanksgiving. Psalm 22:3 says that God enthrones Himself through our praise. Praise brings the tangible Presence of the Lord.

Psalm 18:9-10 says, “He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy…” Verse 19 ends with, “…He delivered me because He delighted in me.”

David was overwhelmed when He penned Psalm 61. Verse 1-2 are a great template for us when we are overwrought, in despair, or overwhelmed. It says, “Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”

Jesus is the Rock Of Our Salvation. When we cry out to Him in our struggles, He brings us into His sheltering love. Think of Deuteronomy 32:10. Though this is speaking of Israel, we can apply it to our situation. “…He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye.” We also are cherished and protected.

Psalm 130:1 says, “Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord; Lord hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.” As I was memorizing verse 2, I thought about the voice of one crying out.

In a room full of people, a parent immediately knows that the crying child is theirs. Why? They recognize the voice. When we cry out to the Lord, He not only knows our voice, but He knows all the emotions of our heart in our voice. Amazing.

Cry out to Him in your need. Supplication means an intensity and earnestness to fully transfer our burden into God’s hands. There are many psalms that use the words to cry out.

I love Psalm 18. David was in such dire straits. Saul and his army surrounded him. In verse 3 he wrote, “I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.”

I recently read an autobiography by Avis Goodhart. The title is “Out Of The Dust: story of an unlikely missionary.” I thought about it again as I memorized Psalm 113:7. It says of God, “He raises the poor out of the dust, and lifts the need out of the ash heap.” 

In the Old Testament, dust and ash heap were symbols of the lowest shame and deepest poverty. If you will remember, when Job’s body was covered with boils, he sat on the ashes. Job 2:8 says, “And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes.”

I love Psalm 40:2. Think of the miry clay like quicksand. It is impossible to extract oneself as you sink in quicksand. That is the way we were before we accepted Jesus. We were helpless and hopelessly lost. We could do nothing to extract ourselves from a life of sin.