Reflecting God - Embrace Holy Living from The Global Church of the Nazarene of Lenexa, Kansas, United States for Wednesday, 10 June 2015 - "Strength Through Dependence" Scripture: Psalm 18:30-50

Reflecting God - Embrace Holy Living from The Global Church of the Nazarene of Lenexa, Kansas, United States for Wednesday, 10 June 2015 - "Strength Through Dependence" Scripture: Psalm 18:30 (29) With you I can run through a whole troop of men,

with my God I can leap a wall.

31 (30) “As for God, his way is perfect,

the word of Adonai has been tested by fire;

he shields all who take refuge in him.

32 (31) “For who is God but Adonai?

Who is a Rock but our God?

33 (32) “It is God who girds me with strength;

he makes my way go straight.

34 (33) He makes me swift, sure-footed as a deer,

and enables me to stand on my high places.

35 (34) He trains my hands for war

until my arms can bend a bow of bronze;

36 (35) “You give me your shield, which is salvation,

your right hand holds me up,

your humility makes me great.

37 (36) You lengthen the steps I can take,

yet my ankles do not turn.

38 (37) “I pursued my enemies and overtook them,

without turning back until they were destroyed.

39 (38) I crushed them, so that they can’t get up;

they have fallen under my feet.

40 (39) “For you braced me with strength for the battle

and bent down my adversaries beneath me.

41 (40) You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,

and I destroyed those who hated me.

42 (41) “They cried out, but there was no one to help,

even to Adonai, but he didn’t answer.

43 (42) I pulverized them like dust in the wind,

threw them out like mud in the streets.

44 (43) “You also freed me from the quarrels of my people.

You made me head of the nations;

a people I did not know now serve me —

45 (44) the moment they hear of me, they obey me,

foreigners come cringing to me.

46 (45) Foreigners lose heart

as they come trembling from their fortresses.

47 (46) “Adonai is alive! Blessed is my Rock!

Exalted be the God of my salvation,

48 (47) the God who avenges me

and subdues peoples under me.

49 (48) He delivers me from my enemies.

You lift me high above my enemies,

you rescue me from violent men.

50 (49) “So I give thanks to you, Adonai, among the nations;

I sing praises to your name.

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"Strength Through Dependence" by Author: Josh Broward
When I walked through the jungles of Papua New Guinea in 1999, there were times when the only part of “me” touching the ground was my sturdy walking stick cut for me by a local. As we traveled from church to church over muddy mountains, bridges made of a single log, and slick rocky trails, that staff may well have saved my life. It prevented countless falls. The staff was my point of stability in an unstable environment.
Life is like that. God is like that. When everything in our culture is changing, when the earth seems to be rolling under our feet, when we pray the prayer of desperate helplessness, God is our point of stability. God is our rock. Slowly, His strength becomes our strength. We walk this world with confidence that nothing can shake our center-point. God is steadfast. He offers us a deep internal strength birthed out of His utter faithfulness and reliability.
This changes everything. Utter dependence yields unparalleled strength.
Hymn for Today: "How Great Is Our God" by Chris Tomlin

The splendor of a King, clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice
All the earth rejoice
He wraps himself in Light, and darkness tries to hide
And trembles at His voice
Trembles at His voice
How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God
Age to age He stands
And time is in His hands
Beginning and the end
Beginning and the end
The Godhead Three in One
Father Spirit Son
The Lion and the Lamb
The Lion and the Lamb
Name above all names
Worthy of our praise
My heart will sing
How great is our God
How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God
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