Strengthened 2!
[24] Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for and hope for and expect the Lord!
This is a psalm by David, the one who God referred to as a mam after His heart. That is a very important consideration, and it would come from a place of a personal encounter with God. Too many times, we focus on the outward, the part when men can applaud or approve, and we can get caught up in the bug of performance. We claim to serve God, but the motive could be to seek, obtain and sustain the approval of men. Long before David became the king of Israel, long before men sang his praises because of his defeat of Goliath, long before he would even become known, he had a relationship with God, away from the public eye. Any life that would make impact must start from this premise too; do not be concerned about what men say first of all; let your heart find and rest in the confidence that comes from a personal knowledge of, and encounter with the God who seeks to show Himself strong in the lives of all who come to Him
When David charges us to be strong and let our hearts take courage, he knows what he is talking about. Long before he stood before Goliath, he had knelt before God in praise and worship. Long before he confronted the lion and the bear, he had received enablement and grace from God for the fight that was coming. All that David experienced prepared him for all that was ahead. God will not demand from me that which He has not first supplied grace for. His Word is the source of all information required to take the right decision. His Word contains both good and bad examples of either complete trust in God, or the dangers of self-sufficiency and pride. God will also not force Himself on anyone, or go against the exercise of my freewill. He wants a living and breathing relationship with me, and His heart of love seeks what is best for me, but I still have to step out and make the approach.
Of course, the verse above makes it clear who the target audience is, and it is those who wait for and hope for and expect the Lord. There is a right way to wait, as well as a wrong way to wait. A man can wait patiently or impatiently for a promise to be fulfilled, but what you get will be defined by how you wait. There is also the element of faith, because you do not see the full picture of all that God has promised. Some of them will only be fully manifested at the end of this earthly phase, yet we hope for the fulfillment of God's promises, and we wait the right way for them to be fulfilled. Waiting the right way does not mean not doing anything, but it means waiting in the consciousness of who you work for, sure of the reward that awaits, and confident that He will return as He has promised. If I know who I am, whose I am, and who I am working for, I will not be bothered by people's opinions. Do you know who you are, and what is ahead? Ask for and receive strength for all that is ahead. God's time of favour is here.
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