SALVATION STRENGTH

Psalm 118:13-14

You pushed me violently, that I might fall, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.

Psalm 118:13-14, NKJV

In verse thirteen we learn that the author was pushed hard to the point of falling. This wasn't merely an accidental nudge or a bump, but a violent action intended to knock the author over in order that he might not get up again. The enemies that surrounded him in the prior verses were seeking his destruction. Not only was he pushed by his enemies but also he was falling. If someone weaker than you pushes you, you can remain standing because you're stronger than they are.

This was not the case for the writer of this psalm! His enemies were overcoming him; they were pushing him hard, and he could not stand. He was helpless and falling. A glorious interruption happens amidst the difficulty: "But the Lord helped me." As the author was headed to his destruction, someone intervened. It was here in this place that the psalmist found God to be three specific things for him: his strength, his song, and his salvation.

Not many people want to go through hard times or be confronted with their own weakness, but it's in the place of our weakness, our discouragement, and inability to rescue ourselves, that we meet a God who is. In our weakness, He is strong. In our silence, He's our song. In our need, He is our salvation.

The truths of God are never meant to be distant theories we abstractly ponder in our ivory towers but rather truths that find us in real-life pits of despair and dark alleyways and lead us home again.

May we never settle for simply "knowing" that God is strong, but may His strength find us in our weakness. May we not simply hear about the joy of those rescued but also may God's song find a home in our hearts and mouths. May God's salvation not simply be a chapter in a systematic theology book we read but rather may we taste and see that God has become our salvation... not just once, but over and over and over again. May we never forget that our strength, song, and salvation have a face in Jesus. We were fallen and beyond repair; our enemy had a stranglehold on each and every one of us at our birth.

Jesus became weak so we might become strong. He cried out in agony on the cross that we might sing out in praise! He was led unto destruction so we might be led into God's salvation! And for this, may we will be eternally thankful!!!

Father, thank You for this day and Your amazing grace it holds. Lord, let Your abundant blessings flow over us and our family today. Lord, we thank You for Your wonderful love that is beyond our ability to know. Lord, give us Your wisdom and the strength of Your Spirit to make us what You want us to become. Lord, use us to carry out Your will in our lives and in Conversations with God so doing to help others in their journey to heaven as well. Lord, we ask a special prayer for our country and our leaders.

Father, we love You. Amen.