When was the last time you felt weak? I know my weakness all too well. I have felt it on days when everything seems to go wrong. I meet my weakness face to face when temptation knocks at my door. I feel it when I am under attack or surrounded by darkness and evil. I see my weakness when I come to the end of my ability to forge on through long-lasting difficulties. I am weak. It is the nature of who I am as a man. I am weak.
In our weakness, how much more do I need the strength of the Almighty. We need it in the morning when we wake up. We need it all through the day. We need it when we lay down at night. We need the strength of the Almighty.
It was David, King of Israel, that penned the name of God after going into battle and defeating his enemies. In Psalm 18:1-2 (NASB), he writes, “I love you, LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”
David identifies God as, YEHOVAH HIZQI, God My Strength. This is the name of God that came to his mind when He realized that the Almighty God had gone to battle on his behalf. It is the name that should come to our lips when we feel our weakness and our humanity and need the strength of God to carry on.
Because He is the Almighty, God is more than strong, He is the strongest of all. Because He is the Great One, His strength is great. There is no end to His strength. He can exercise the fullness of His strength and His strength is not depleted in the least.
After ten verses describing a long list of the miracles of God, Job throws his hands in the air and declares, “Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, and how small a whisper we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand?" -Job 26:14, NKJV
We can see all the power, strength and might of God in His greatest miracles, but they are just the mere edge of His ways. His ways are far greater than what He has shown us in history. We could list every miracle of God known to man and they would be just a small whisper of His power. His power is truly a great thunder compared to the whisper of His miracles. God is so mighty that no one can fully understand the greatness of His strength.
This great power of God is more than just a force of energy. David makes it personal when he says that God is “my” strength. He is my prevailing strength, strength that cannot be opposed. All the power of God is somehow transferred to me as I live in His Kingdom, under His dominion.
He is my strength against the enemy. He is my strength against my own flesh. He is my strength to fight and win spiritual battles. He is my strength to live life in the beauty of the Kingdom. He is my strength to stand against adversity. He is my strength to prevail against evil. He is my strength to overcome. He is my strength to remain faithful. He is my strength to stand against fear and remain in faith. He is my courageous strength.
Because God is my strength, I can say with Paul, the great apostle of the early church, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” -2 Corinthians 12:10, NASB. Paul was able to say this because, as a Hebrew scholar, He knew the name of God, YEHOVAH HIZQI.
My good friend, Bryan Taylor, always tells me that the answer to every question is another question, “Who is God?” There is much truth in what he says. So, today, when you feel your weakness, won’t you declare with me, “God is my strength!” Say it, pray it, and keep it in the forefront of your mind. In YEHOVAH HIZQI, you will find our strength.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation.