December 19 – Tested Blameless Protection

“As for God, His way is blameless; The word of the Lord is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.”  Psalm 18:95  (NASB)

 

As we move day to day looking for and finding promises in every book of the Bible, the Book of Psalms is not out of the ordinary. We’ve already found many promises in these songs written by David and many others which bring praise, worship, honor, and adoration to our Lord God. As we often notice and underscore, God’s Word is true and powerful. The New Testament book of Hebrews (4:12) says God’s Word is living, active, and sharp.  Today we find the promise that God’s way is blameless – that means it’s never wrong and will never lead us astray from the path He places us upon. We also have the promise that it is ‘tried’ which means tested and proven to be true. No errors or mistakes or falsehoods will be found in the original manuscripts of the Bible inspired by God through human writers. Third, God and His Word is a place of refuge, a safe place where we are shielded from the attacks of our evil enemy. Why can we know it’s a safe place? Because it’s God’s true and trusted revelation of His will and it’s able to judge our heart’s thoughts and intentions.  

 

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October 14 – Pinions and Bucklers

“He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. ” – Psalm 91:4 (ESV)

The imagery in this verse will be very familiar to anyone who has lived where their chickens have the run of the yard. When a hen’s brood has hatched, her chicks follow her wherever she goes. She leads them to food and they learn how to find it for themselves. If ever the shadow of a hawk passes over the hen she senses the danger and sends out a call to her chicks. They run to her and hide under her spread her wings. Her wing feathers keeping them safe from the sharp eyes of the hawk who can swiftly dive and snatch up the small chicks for a meal. That’s a metaphor the psalmist gives us of God’s faithful protection. God will cover us with his ‘pinions’ and we find refuge under His ‘wings.” Our God is spirit and doesn’t actually have wings or feathers but the psalmist says it this way to help us visualize God’s protection. It’s God’s faithfulness, not ours. God’s faithfulness is like a shield or buckler – a small shield worn on the arm. God, our protector, promises refuge and safe places we need. When we face threats from the devil we need protection.

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March 28 – Sleep Sustains Life

“I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.”  - Psalm 3:5 (ESV)

Sleep sustains our healthy life.  We may not get the sleep our bodies need or we think we can operate efficiently on less than we need.  When that is our condition, we risk serious side-effects.  Some have health related problems making it difficult getting good sleep.  Lack of sleep robs our brains of working efficiently Worry and fear (close emotional relatives) can rob us of the sleep we need.  King David faced rebellion from his son Absalom and had to flee for his life. This psalm was written during or about this time in the King’s life.  Many thought David was abandoned by God and were expecting him to lose.  But David knew to put his trust in the LORD. He knew the LORD was his shield (Psalm 3:3).  And David knew that the LORD was watching over him and giving him needed sleep.  King David knew that if he went to sleep, he would wake up again because the LORD was sustaining his life.  We know this promise.  We can trust God to watch over us and help us get sustaining sleep.  Our fears will ease as we trust God’s promises.  

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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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October 21 – Help and Shield

“Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.  For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.”  Psalm 33:20-21 (ESV)

Our God is surely a great source of joy. The psalmist wrote that in Him our hearts rejoice. So our faith in God is not just a mental, intellectual attitude. It affects our inner being. It becomes a protective shield against the evil enemy seeking to destroy our lives.  With His help our hearts are filled with joy and gladness. Actually that is how the psalmist describes what happens when we put our faith in God. He says that trusting in the Lord is what produces the joy in our lives. Yes, we can trust the Lord for whatever we are facing today. As we learn to depend on Him to take care of your needs, to be for us a help and a shield against the attacks, we realize what a great and Holy God He is, the result will be joy. His joy will fill our heart.

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September 9 - Rejoicing Comes From Trusting

“We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.” Psalm 33:20-21 (NIV)

Our God is a great source of joy. This is a truth that shows up frequently in our study of God's promises.  Only two days ago we considered how our God of hope fills us with joy and peace in believing.  Paul was encouraging the believers in the city of Rome. It is very likely, since Paul had studied the Old Testament a great deal that he drew his teaching from one of these verses. Today we read how the psalmist wrote that in Him our hearts rejoice. Our faith in God is not just a mental, intellectual attitude. It affects our inner being. It fills our hearts with joy and gladness. Actually that is how the psalmist describes what happens when we put our faith in God. He says that trusting in the Lord is what produces the joy. Yes, you can trust the Lord for whatever you are facing today. As you depend on Him to take care of your needs, and you realize what a great and holy God He is, the result will be joy. His joy will fill your heart.

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August 14 – Strength and Shield

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults,  and with my song I give thanks to him.” Psalm 28:7 -   (ESV)

We each have times in our days and days in our lives that we need strength beyond our own.  We also need protection and we find these in God our Father. These words written by David long ago can also be our testimony as followers of Jesus today because we have believed in Him as our Savior and  Lord.  Our Lord God is our source of strength and we have a promise elsewhere that he will provide all we need. When we turn to Him for the help we need to live for Him, He responds with strength and protection from evil.  He is our shield against all the attacks from Satan and from the influences and temptations the godless world around throws at us. We believe and trust Jesus with all our hearts and as help is manifested, our hearts are filled with joy – we exult in praise.  And as David wrote, we give thanks to God with our voice and song.  These promises can go a long way to bolstering our spirit in any threatening circumstance.  

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July 1 – Trust Brings Help

“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)

This expression of praise to God was written by David the psalmist but we are sure that since then many many believers have found that it describes their experience too.  It is a promise from God for protection and strength as we trust in Him. We believe that many of those who follow this blog have found help to trust the Lord. The reason that we find that it helps to trust the Lord is because He does help us when we trust Him.  Yes, when He is aware that we are trusting Him He responds by getting involved in our problems and our activities.  He become the source of our strength and of our abilities.  By what He provides for us each day we are able to face any challenges from the world or in our work place.  Let's respond when God helps us and lets give Him our thanks and sing His praises.  

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October 15 – Reasons to Leap for Joy

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.”  Psalm 28:7 (ESV)

The songs written by the psalmist David and included in our Bible were written as a result of some personal experience in David's life.  When David wrote the words to Psalm 28 he was expressing the feelings of His heart.  In answer to David's faith, God had helped him. What happened then? He said his heart exults. Other versions say "leaps for joy," and he began singing his thanks to God.  David's God is our God for there is only one true God.  He promises to respond to our faith by helping us when we call on Him.  When we recognize and acknowledge that God is helping us our hearts rejoice.  Can we say then that our heart leaps for joy?  If so, let us not forget to sing out thanks to our wonderful God.  

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August 2 – Perfect Shield

“As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.”  Psalm 18:30 (NIV)

The songs or psalms that we have in our Bible were often written to express what the writers had experienced in trusting God.  Today's verse is like that.  When David wrote this song he had passed through a very trying period of his life. His experience had proved to him that God does everything right.  That is why David used the words perfect and flawless to describe what God had done for him.  We notice that David thought of God as a shield. Let's remember how a shield is used.  It is used between a person and some threatening danger, and that is how our Lord protects us each day.  Let's trust the Lord to be close to us, closer than the things which bother us.  If He is that close He'll be between us and our problems and will truly protect us as He did so for David. That is our promise to remember – that our Lord is our shield, our perfect shield in this world today. 

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July 1 – Heart Help

“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)

This is a beautiful testimony by the psalmist David. He had learned a very special lesson and he wanted others to learn it too. That's why he sang these words and made his song available for others to sing it too.  We don't sing the psalms much in our time but that was how they were shared in the time they were written. These words expressed David's faith and an experience that we can have in our Christian lives today.  I'm thinking especially of what happens when we trust the Lord with our whole heart.  As we trust Him He responds by giving us the help we need.  We may sometimes need spiritual strength to face some special problems. If we trust the Lord for this strength He does help. Or, it may be we need help and protection just for everyday living. Believers are under assault more than ever.  We can always say with David, “My heart trusts in Him and I am helped.”  It is a promise, that He is our strength and shield.

February 23 – Strength and Shield

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” Psalm 28:7 (NIV)

This is David's testimony but it can also be our testimony as well. We have the same Lord that David had and we are made like he was too. It is with our hearts that we trust  our God. When we say that, we mean that it is with our inner beings that we rely on God who loves us. David said that when he trusted the Lord he was helped. We can think of this in two ways. When we put our trust in God we are helped because feelings of uncertainty go away. Our mental attitude changes. We are motivated to respond with praise as joy fills our hearts. But more important is the help that God provides directly when we trust Him. He acts in our behalf when we rely on Him. So we trust that your heart is trusting in the Lord and you have a heart that just wants to leap for joy. It begins with trust in Him.

November 8 – Hope. Help. Shield.

“We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.” Psalm 33:20-21 (NIV) 

It is the will of our Father in heaven that we experience true joy in believing in Him. And those who have put their trust in the Lord do experience that joy. Our verses today remind us of what happens when we trust in the name of the Lord. Isn't it true that when we hear the name of the Lord, our heart responds with real joy. That's because the name of the Lord represents what we know about His love, His care for us. So when we simply hear His name we think of all He has done and all He is doing for us. Today, trust His promise and wait in hope for the Lord and trust in His holy name. 

March 10 – Trusting Heart

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” Psalm 28:7 (NIV)

This psalm was written as were the other psalms as one way of expressing joy in song. We realize that many people down through the centuries have sung this song to give thanks to God. We can join with the writer of this song to express the feelings of our heart. David said that his heart was trusting in the Lord. He put his confidence in the Lord and relied on Him to meet his needs. This effort was not in vain because God knew his heart and God responded. David said, “and He helps me.” All this can happen in our lives too. Why not trust the Lord today my friend and experience God’s response. Then we can say as David did, “my heart trusts in Him and He helps me.” The help from God is ours if we acknowledge Him and ask for it from Him. 

October 1

“We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.” Psalm 33:20-21 (NIV)

Our God is surely a great source of joy. The psalmist wrote that in Him our hearts rejoice. So our faith in God is not just a mental, intellectual attitude. It affects our inner being. It fills our hearts with joy and gladness. Actually that is how the psalmist describes what happens when we put our faith in God. He says that trusting in the Lord is what produces the joy. Yes, you can trust the Lord for whatever you are facing today. As you depend on Him to take care of your needs, and you realize what a great and holy God He is, the result will be joy. His joy will fill your heart.

August 31

“We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.” Psalm 33:20-21 (NIV)

Whatever our responsibilities and our plans let us remember that we need God’s help. So we put our trust in Him and look to Him for guidance, for wisdom, for courage, and for patience – to name only a few of our needs. As we look to God for His help, we expect Him to give it. And the attitude of expectation is really what is meant by the word “hope” as the Bible uses it. So when we wait in hope we are really expecting God to do something for us. And waiting in hope is really a matter of trusting. Trusting brings assurance and there is joy and rejoicing for us today in this kind of expectant trusting.