Allow me to ask you a challenging question.
Where is your strength?
I listened to a message in which the preacher quoted a few verses from Habakkuk chapter 3. After a rather intense question and answer session with the Lord in chapters 1 and 2, the prophet Habakkuk reaffirmed his faith by recounting works the Lord had done.
The first few words of the final verse of Habakkuk 3 grabbed my attention.
Habakkuk 3:19 starts this way.
The LORD God is my strength…
This is not a unique idea in the Scriptures. For example, consider the familiar words of David in Psalm 46:1.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
This challenged me to think about whether the Lord is truly my strength. When times get tough, will I be like the prophet or the psalmist and lean on the Lord Himself as my strength?
How about you?
Where does your strength come from? What gives you the wherewithal to get through each day? What keeps you going when things are difficult?
Is it family? Is it friends? Is it your daily routine? Is it following a set of rules? Is it good health?
Are books you read a source of strength? Does it come from music you grew up listening to?
Do you draw your strength from an organization you belong to? Is it your church that gives you strength? Is it programs you hear on Christian radio?
Does your strength come from reliance on yourself? I saved that one for last because it can be a real problem.
Maybe you feel challenged by interactions with other people because civility doesn’t seem to exist any more, and you’ve developed a hard shell of resistance or defensiveness. Are you looking to the Lord for the best way to respond to others?
Not all of the things I’ve listed above are bad, but can you truly say the Lord is your strength? I’m working on that myself, so believe me when I say I’m not pointing fingers at you.
Can you say with the prophet Habakkuk, “The Lord is my strength?”
Oh, Lord, be my strength today. Teach me to rely on you as my strength each day, especially in these challenging times. In Jesus’s name. Amen.