January 10 – Our Strength and Shield

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.”  -Psalm 28:7 (NASB)

Why do we need a shield?  Where do we find strength when we find ourselves fearful, anxious, distraught or any other burdensome condition of life?  Our promise today gives us the answer.  The Lord our God is our strength, and that is a promise mentioned many times in the Bible.  God is not just a source of strength but actually His strength becomes our strength in Him.  His strength is our shield against fear, anxiety, depression, and any trial we face.  This is why we trust in Him because trusting manifests the help God gives us.  This verse is such a blessing today and any day we need it.  Our response is as the psalmist David declares and we, out of thankful hearts, exult and leap for joy. We respond each day by offering up our offering of thanks to God and give to Him the Glory He deserves.  Such an offering becomes a song in our hearts and minds.  Sing it today, the song of thanksgiving, whatever brings it to your heart.

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April 15 – Reason To Be Glad

“When the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion, We were like those who dream...The Lord has done great things for us; We are glad.” Psalm 126:1, 3 (NASB)

One of the happiest songs in the Bible is Psalm 126. Today we look at the first and third verse.  Verse 1 reminds us of the occasion for writing the song. The people of Israel had been in captivity in Babylon for 70 years. When they are allowed to go back to Jerusalem, they praised God for working that out for them. They acknowledge in verse 3 that it was the Lord who had done this great thing as well as other great things.  Our Lord has done great things for us and we ought to be sure to give Him the credit.  As we think of all he has done and all that he is doing for us every day it does give us joy and a reason to be glad, doesn't it?  We can join with the people who first sang this psalm. We can let God know how happy it makes us to recognize His daily care for us just as He has promised many times.  The Lord has done and will do great things for us, let's be glad about that today.