The God You Can Trust

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. Ps. 28:7 (NIV)

David was a strong man; he was a warrior and a king. He conquered an impressive list of foes in his lifetime: lions, bears, giants and nations. But early on, he learned that he wasn't strong in his own abilities, he was strong only through his relationship with the Lord.

"The Lord is my strength and my shield," he says. In other words, "It's not me -- I'm not that strong." If the Lord was David's strength, He will also be ours. We can give ourselves permission to be weak. In our lives, when we face foes of all kinds, we can be confident that the Lord will strengthen and protect us. Whether your battle is one of sickness, finances or relationships, God will be your strength and shield.

David knew he could trust God. He says, "My heart trusts in him ..." The heart is the deepest part of our being; it is our true self. The deepest part of David could trust that God was going to be there for him in the midst of the battle. What does your heart feel toward God? Can you trust Him? Do you have confidence that He will give you strength and protect you when you are weak and in danger?

David could trust God because he knew that when he relied on the Lord, he would be helped. "My heart trusts in him, and I am helped," he says. He could say from experience, when the lion attacks, I get help and I'm not killed, and my sheep are safe. When I fight Goliath, I get help and he is defeated. When it's time for promotion, I get help, and I am not passed over or forgotten. God wants to help us. He doesn't necessarily take away the enemies, but He wants to show us, during the battle, that we can trust Him.

After learning we can trust God, what is our response? David said, "My heart leaps for joy ... Again, he speaks about his heart -- the deepest part of himself. The same part that trusts God  -- the real me -- leaps for joy. Leaps? As in, an unrestrained, boisterous, explosion of freedom. Leaping for joy is not something we do on a regular basis. The ability to leap for joy requires a heart that is free to express itself fully and be accepted wholly. You can't leap for joy if you're afraid to be vulnerable. It's too real, and too exposed. But this is exactly what our hearts long for -- the freedom to trust God, to receive his provision and to rejoice in him.

David was a psalmist, and one of the ways he naturally responded to God was in song. But we all have gifts and abilities to give God in worship. Whether you can sing, dance, paint, write, cook, or create something with your hands, you can express your heart to God by using those abilities to worship Him. Knowing that God can be trusted with your heart is even more powerful than trusting Him to protect you from enemies. God's love for us can break through the hardest of hearts and penetrate the walls of our defenses. He wants to break us out of our self-imposed prisons, and let our hearts be free. Can you trust Him today? Trust Him to be your strength. Trust Him to be your protector. Trust Him to help. Trust Him with the hidden places of your heart. Trust Him enough to let down the walls and freely express yourself to Him, in song, in dance, and in wild leaps of joy.

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