Who Is God for You This Christmas?
Christmas can be a time of stress and emotional turbulence for many people, but we “find ourselves” again as we spend a few minutes remembering who the Lord is.
The human heart needs the knowledge of God. Pursuing Him this way—through remembrance, through thinking about Him, going over the things He’s done and said—is a beautiful kind of worship.
Remember the former things long past,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is no one like Me. (Isa. 46:9 NASB)
If you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed, here are a few precious things to remember about the Lord this week. He’s here to help you and He hasn’t changed.
1. When you feel emotionally out of control, God is your Rock.
Praise be to the Lord my Rock,
who trains my hands for war,
my fingers for battle. (Ps. 144:1 NIV)
There is only one strong, safe, and secure place for me;
it’s in God alone who gives me strength for the battle. (TPT)
Consider Psalm 144:1 with your spirit, not just with your head, and take note of whatever the Lord shows you. Here are a few concepts to consider:
The Lord is your unmoving foundation.
He’s the stone that stays in place.
It doesn’t matter the size of the storm. The strength of the earthquake. The upheaval of nations. He’s still the Rock.
The Lord enables you to have peace when the world around you feels un-peaceful.
You might feel scattered and all over the place, but He is right here to make you firm again. That’s what He does because He’s the Rock.
2. When you feel spiritually exhausted, God lifts you above your enemies.
Interestingly, the word rock in Psalm 144:1 can also be translated “cliff,” according to Strong’s Concordance. In other words, the Lord is not only your firm foundation, but He’s also the One who gives you a better view. He lifts you up above whatever is attacking you.
He rescues me from my enemies;
he lifts me up high and keeps me out of reach,
far from the grasp of my violent foe. (Ps. 18:48 TPT)
As you trust the Lord with the things you’re struggling with today, remember they are below you, not above you. Take a few minutes to consider the Lord’s heart and nature and how He lifts you up above all the stress and whatever emotional turmoil you’re going through today.
3. God is the Captain who is training your hands for war.
Blessed be the Lord, my Rock and my great strength,
Who trains my hands for war
And my fingers for battle. (Ps. 144:1 AMP)
According to Strong’s, the Hebrew word war in Psalm 144:1 can also be translated “hostile encounter.” War sounds like a massive entanglement involving powerful weapons and tanks and scores of people.
But hostile encounter could be anything, even a “small” thing that happens internally. Something no one else knows about.
All of us are dealing with hostile encounters of one kind or another, and our enemies aren’t necessarily people. They might be things like fear, self-hatred, self-loathing, discouragement, hopelessness, frustration, etc. Think about those things in light of Psalm 144:1. Your heavenly Father is training you to conquer those enemies.
4. The Lord knows exactly what you’re fighting, and He is with you to help you.
It’s possible that no one knows the enemy you’re struggling with this Christmas. But your Father knows, and He is training you to defeat that thing. And His training is working. You are growing as a warrior. You’re learning to trust Him.
This is what He’s doing with you:
For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall. (Ps. 18:29 ESV)
This Christmas, may you be able to take a deep breath and remember the Lord. His beauty is all around you.
Does your heart need to remember who God is? Check out these other devotions:
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