AUGUST 1, 2021 SCRIPTURE AND SONG “THE STRENGTH OF MY HEART”

PSALM 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the rock and firm strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. Amp.

DEFINITIONS

Strength – c) a cliff, a rock or a boulder, a refuge.

Refuge – d) shelter or protection from danger, difficulty, etc., a place of safety.

We are all made from dust and we have nothing but our own fleshly wisdom without the Lord. We also have times of difficulty when we do not know the answer. Where do we go for the right answer? Who is you refuge? Where do you go for help?

Proverbs 3:5 Lean on, trust and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind, and do not rely on your own understanding. 6. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. 7. Be not wise in your own eyes; reverently fear and worship the Lord, and turn (entirely) away from evil. 8. It shall be health to your nerves…

He is telling us the answer to every problem, difficulty, disaster and trial that we may have.

First we must admit to ourselves that we do not know everything. We may have a good head on our shoulders and a lot of common sense. But it is only by God’s gift of His great mercy and grace that all is well. At any moment things can change, just like they did for Job.

He thought He was a good person and should not have to suffer like he was suffering. It came upon him out of nowhere, without warning. But no matter how bad things got, he kept his trust in the Lord. I believe that Job had gotten a little prideful and the Lord was helping him to repent. Afterwards he gave Job double for his suffering and his spiritual eyes were opened.

The Lord knows what we need. We all have times when our heart and flesh fail. And if God is the strength of our heart, He will rescue us and put our feet back on the Rock. Where do you go for help? Now is the time to ask yourself this question. Do you go to man for help?

There are many, many avenues we can take besides the Lord. The media has all the answers. But are they the answers that you need? If we do things His way and lean on Him, He will make our path clear and straight. We can go forth in confidence and without fear of the outcome. But we must turn entirely away from evil. He is wanting to make us a holy and pure vessel fit for Him.

If we have given Him our life, He will put us through the cleansing process. It is never pleasant but if we endure it the right way, we will come forth as gold, just as Job. So we see that if He is our refuge, we are never in any danger. The danger comes when He is not your refuge.

Jeremiah 17:5-6 Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. 6. For he shall be like a heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

With God as my strength, He will be my portion forever. What more could I ask?

SUBJECT — DIFFICULTY — STREAMS IN THE DESERT

Difficulty is the very atmosphere of miracle in its first stage. If it is to be a great miracle, the condition is not difficulty but impossibility.

SONG — IN HIS PRESENCE — PHIL DRISCOLL