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Devotional 4.4.25

 

April 4, 2025 – Dire Straits & Divine Strength

 

2 Corinthians 12:9

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

 

Scripture Reading: Psalm 64

 

David seems to be doing three things in Psalm 64. He’s expressing the direness of his situation. He’s affirming his confidence in God as his divine protector. And, as a result, he ends the psalm worshiping. Paul writes of something similar in 2 Corinthians 12 when he says that he pleaded with the Lord three times for the thorn in his flesh to be taken away. God’s response was “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul basically worships in response when he says, “I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

 

The songs we’ll be singing together on Sunday also reflect the themes of our insufficiency and God’s sufficiency, our weakness and God’s strength, our sinfulness and God’s lavish love poured out through Christ. “Jesus Strong and Kind” reminds us that when we are thirsty, weak, fearful, or lost, we can go to Jesus who is both strong and kind. Jesus is powerful, having the ability to exert great force or control, yet he is also gentle, generous and concerned with the details, hurts and challenges of our lives. 

 

In “How Deep the Father’s Love For Us,” we’ll sing about the Father giving his only Son to make a wretch his treasure through Jesus’s wounds, which have paid our ransom. This unfathomable love is what is expressed in the Hebrew word chesed, which means loving kindness, mercy, encompassing a deep and enduring love and commitment. God’s chesedlove was manifested in the person of Jesus Christ.

 

“Behold Him” is a reminder that our response to God’s chesed love should be to worship him – Jesus, Son of God, Messiah, the Lamb, the roaring Lion, Alpha and Omega, the risen Savior. Lastly, we’ll sing “All Sufficient Merit,” proclaiming “no more debt I owe, paid in full, all-sufficient merit now my own.” Therefore, “let all the upright in heart exult!” (Psalm 64:10)

 

Further Reading: Isaiah 40:29-31; Ephesians 3:15-19; Philippians 4:12-13

 

Reflection Questions:

  1. When you are faced with life’s challenges do you tend to focus on more your circumstances, or the character of God and his presence and strength in them?
  2. What is typically the result of focusing on your circumstances? On the character and presence and strength of God?

 

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your loving kindness and sustaining grace that strengthens me in every season. Help me to rest in knowing that when I am weak, you are strong. Jesus overcame the grave, and that same power through the Holy Spirit rests on me. Hallelujah! Amen. 


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