THE LORD IS MY?
Psalms 18:1-3 NKJV
1 I will love You, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.
I know, I know our reading for today is Revelation 6. I read the chapter. But nothing registered with me about a devotional. I will say this. I have a history with horses, and the four horses in this chapter I would prefer to avoid altogether.
So I have moved on to Psalm 18, which is a favorite psalm of mine. And what immediately struck me as I reread this chapter was how David spoke about the Lord. Or more specifically, who the Lord was to him.
David went through a great amount of trouble and challenges in his life. On the day that he was anointed to be the next king of Israel, the Holy Spirit came upon him. And from that time, his life was marked by trouble and triumph. He fought lions and bears. He fought the giant Goliath. He fought Philistines and then continued to fight them for the rest of his life. He fought against the house of Saul and even had to fight against members of his own household who stood up against him. So David related to the Lord as the One who helped him and delivered him from serious enemies. David's enemies were not posting nasty comments; they were shooting nasty arrows and throwing spears. For a man constantly in danger, in these first three verses, we see David express who the Lord was to him.
"I will love You, O Lord my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer." If you are constantly fighting, it is good to know that God is strength and stability and a safe place. It is good to have a God who delivers. And David continues calling God his strength, shield, or protection, and the One that David trusts. The horn of salvation is better translated as the rock of salvation. The idea expressed here is not a little rock that you throw, but a massive rock that gives you the high ground in a battle. Stronghold is another safe place.
David declares he will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised. And in calling, he is saved from his enemies. We can see that David truly depended on the Lord for his very life, and the Lord was to him a strong, safe place of salvation and deliverance.
To Daniel, the Lord was the One who revealed secrets and dreams. To David, the Lord was the One who helped him win battles.
APPLICATION
Who is the Lord to you? The Lord is my what? Have you ever given that some thought? Have you ever said to the Lord that He was your help or counsel? How about the Lord my wisdom and the Lord my comforter? Maybe in this stage of life, you need the Lord to be your strength or your safe place. The beautiful thing is that whatever we need, the Lord is more than enough in that area. The Lord, my healer, provider, the One who leads and guides me. The Lord who accepts me. The Lord who causes me to overcome.
Who is the Lord to you? Make it personal, then express that to Him in praise. Begin to thank the Lord that this is who He is to You. If you are stuck, start with the Lord, my salvation. You can always add more. He is the God who is more than enough to you!