You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the LORD ? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn. Psalm 18: 28-36, NIV.
Holy God, this is our fourth day in this study, and we have been greatly blessed by the lessons You have taught us so far. We know that even greater blessings await us today and in the days to come. Please draw near to us and bless us with Your presence as we study Your Word. In the precious name of Jesus we humbly pray. Amen.
We have been looking at God from many angles. He is our light in the darkness; our strength and enabler. He is the God whose way is perfect and whose Word has no flaws. He is our shield and the one and only Lord, and only safe Rock! Today we will see Him as the Source of our strength; and the One who makes our way perfect. Truly, with the help of God, we can do all things!
“It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.” If you have ever experienced weakness, in any phase of Your life, then I am sure that You can appreciate this affirmation of faith! There are various methods of weakening employed by the Adversary. He uses criticism, he uses sickness, death and disappointment; he uses our failures, and so many other means to sap our energies and weaken us. One of his most effective methods is to get us to take our eyes off of Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14: 6)! If he can be successful in doing this, he can also get us to fall into divers temptations and cause us to become weak! Here David is claiming God as the One who provides him with strength. If there was anyone who could appreciate a good dose of God’s strength it was David! His enemies were many! His hands were so full of blood, and he had fought so many battles, that he was not permitted to “build a house for the LORD God of Israel” (1 Chronicles 22: 7, 8). Even those of his household (his son Absalom) tried to dethrone him! Most of us can stand up to outside enemies, but how do you fight against someone that is as close to you as a child, someone who you love dearly? That must be almost as painful as death itself! Therefore, David learned to look away from himself, to God, for the strength he needed to fight the battles of life, “The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid” (Psalm 27: 1b, emphasis provided)?
Only as we look to Jesus will our way be made perfect; for there is nothing perfect about us. At our best, we are in pretty bad shape without Jesus. Remember the rich young ruler? “He said to Jesus, ‘ “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack” ‘ ” (Matthew 19: 20)? All the “good” that he had done did not make him good! That is the work of Jesus, the Savior! Listen to what Jesus said to him, “ ‘ “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” ‘ ” (21, emphasis provided). Was Jesus telling him that doing something would make him perfect and save him? I do not believe that is the case at all. The key to finding the answer is by putting the beginning and the end of Jesus’ answer together: “If you want to be perfect, come, follow Me! Jesus is the Way to the Father, no one can come to the Father except through Jesus and His perfection! His question, “What do I still lack?” was in order! He lacked Jesus in His life!
He had looked to the Law for salvation, now Jesus was saying to this young man what He says to all humankind, ” ‘ “Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. . .” ‘ ” (Isaiah 45: 22, emphasis provided). Only Jesus can make our way perfect, “as His way is perfect” (Matthew 5: 48)!
To my darling husband, Mr. Herman Duncan, to dad, and grandpa, on his birthday: From all of us, we love you, and wish you an eternity more of birthdays. Have a Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday!