The Lord is my strength and my shield

Psalm 28:7 (NIV)

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.  My heart leaps for joy. 

This is a very special verse for me, not only because of its meaning, but also because it reminds me of my daughter, Allison.  Today is her birthday.  When she was 7 years old, one day she excitedly told me that she had memorized this verse.  Since then, every time I read this verse, I am reminded of my precious daughter.  So I am delighted to write about this verse.

Think deeply for a few moments on these truths:

1.   The Lord is my strength

2.   The Lord is my shield

3.   My heart trusts in Him

4.   His strength, shield and my trust in Him help me.

5.   My heart leaps for joy

Really now, did you concentrate on these five truths?  Did you repeat them in your mind and reflect on what they mean to you?  Whatever your mood or circumstances right now, did not these truths give you something positive to encourage and help you? 

Let’s dig below the surface.  The Lord is your “oz”, yes, that’s the Chaldean word used here for strength.  You didn’t know that the title of the book and movie was really “The Wizard of Strength”, did you?  This word also means security, power, boldness, and majesty.  There are dozens of verses in the Old Testament that make this same claim (e.g. Psalm 18:2, 19:14 and 46:1).  The most familiar passage on strength in the New Testament is Philippians 4:13.  Are you facing a difficulty right now that is so overwhelming that you see no way out?  Is something in your life out of control?  Can you see from this passage where true strength comes from?  Can you see what happens when you have this strength?  Do you understand how you can have it?

The Lord is also your ‘meginnah’ (meg-in-naw), your protector, your shield.  Think of the Lord not only as your protector, but also think of His shield as making the missiles (attacks) of the enemy in the form of fear and worry and depression bounce off of you.

Why can you trust Him?  OK, try this………ask Him right now to give you strength and to be your shield in whatever challenging or difficult circumstance you are facing right now.  Be specific in your prayer, telling Him your deepest emotions and not holding anything back, even if you need to ‘complain’ that you are not feeling any strength or protection.  Tell Him that you trust Him to give you His strength and His protection within and throughout this circumstance.  Now, after you have prayed as fervently as you can[1], and emptied your mind and heart of whatever emotions you have, how do you feel?  Do you feel that you have been helped? Does your heart want to leap for joy?  Is there a smile on your face?  Is there a sense of relief in your heart?  You have experienced something highly spiritual that words cannot describe.  You have experienced the incomparable and indescribable power and joy of the creator of you and all things.  You have experienced His certainty, His security, and His peace of mind! 

Here’s another rendition of this beautiful verse:

The Lord’s my strength, He is my shield, on Him my heart relies.

So I am helped, my heart exults, to Him my thanks arise.

For all His chosen people too, the source of strength is He

And for His blest anointed Son, His saving strength shall be

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[1] Be sure that you first have asked for His forgiveness for James 5:16 says that the prayers of a 'righteous man’ can accomplish much and a righteous man/woman is one who has been cleansed of all sin by confessing it (I John 1:9).