My Lord, My Strength, My Everything

I think Psalm 18 is one of my favorite psalms. If you’re not familiar with it, here’s just a taste:

"I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold...He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters...He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me...You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great."
It’s a fairly long psalm, but when you have a minute go and take a look at the whole thing. Read it through and see if the same theme stands out to you that stood out to me: our God is everything. He is all-sufficient. He is perfect. His word is flawless. He gives us all the strength we need.

I really like the way Psalm 18 starts: "I love you, O Lord, my strength." There’s no complaining, no whining about all David’s problems. Simply praise that God is his all-sufficient, his complete strength. There was nothing else David needed beside God. God filled his life and gave him everything he required. As far as David was concerned at the moment he wrote this psalm, there was nothing else. God was it. "As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless." There is no word "perfect-er," and "more perfect" is grammatically incorrect. You can’t improve upon perfect. It’s done, it has everything it needs. God is perfect. He’s the Ultimate. He’s everything.

I feel like I’m rambling, but at some points during that psalm, I feel like David is rambling, too. At a few points he actually switches from talking about God to talking to God. I think his gratefulness and his excitement over God’s accomplishments just completely overtook him, and he couldn’t help but burst into a prayer of thanksgiving. He couldn’t just talk about God to the people around him, he had to tell God Himself how great and how cool he thought He was!

I don’t know if anybody reads this blog. I keep writing, because I love to do it, even if the only person who ever sees it is me. But if, at anytime, you happen to read this post – even if it’s a month from today’s date, even if it’s a year – would you leave a comment with an outpouring of thanks to God for something in your life? Anything. Search your heart and your life, and you’ll see what He’s done for you. Our culture focuses way too much on all the bad things in life. Let the world crash, God’s still everything! He’s real, and He’s listening to you! Maybe your praise is, "God, thank You for just getting me through another day." Maybe it’s rediscovering the awesomeness of His salvation. Maybe it has to be as simple as, "Thank You for that sunrise this morning, God. I was forgetting how beautiful You make the world around us." Or maybe it goes into a deeper hurt that’s starting to heal: "Thank You I could get through another day without cutting myself." Whatever it is, writing it down will help you see how amazing our Lord is, and how He’s working to reveal Himself in your life. No matter how fast you run from Him, He runs faster. He’ll catch up. And if you don’t want to walk hand-in-hand with Him, He’ll always be nearby, shielding you and covering you with His arms of love.

If today you’re finding it hard just to keep from crying, let this be your prayer: "Father, be my everything. Outrun me and overtake me. I’m feeling awfully short today, like I don’t measure up to anything, the world’s standards or my own. But I know that You stoop down to make me great. You’ll get down so I can see into Your eyes and You can lift my chin. When everything else fades, You remain. You’re perfect. You’re awesome. You’re great. I love You, O Lord, my strength. "