Psalm 89; II Timothy 1:7 - "Your Name Is Power"

This morning the Lord took me to Psalm 89. He had me ponder upon verses nineteen through thirty-seven. They read in The Passion Translation:

19–20 You spoke to your prophets in visions, saying,
“I have found a mighty hero for my people.
I have chosen David as my loving servant and exalted him.
I have anointed him as king with the oil of my holiness.
21 I will be strength to him and I will give him
my grace to sustain him no matter what comes.
22 None of his enemies will get the best of him,
nor will the wicked one overpower him.
23 For I will crush his every adversary
and do away with all who hate him.
24 Because I love him and treasure him,
my faithfulness will always protect him.
I will place my great favor upon him,
and I will cause his power and fame to increase.
25 I will set his hand over the sea
and his right hand over the rivers.
26 And he will come before me, saying,
‘You truly are my Father, my only God, and my strong deliverer!’
27 I am setting him apart, favoring him as my firstborn son.
I will make him the most high king in all the earth!
28 I will love him forever and always show him kindness.
My covenant with him will never be broken.
29 For I have decreed that he will always have an heir—
a dynasty that will release the days of heaven on earth.
30–32 But if his children turn from me and forsake my words,
refusing to walk in my truth, renouncing and violating my laws,
then I will surely punish them for their sins
with my stern discipline until they regret it.
33 But I will never, no never, lift my faithful love from off their lives.
My kindness will prevail and I will never disown them.
34–35 How could I revoke my covenant of love that I promised David?
For I have given him my word, my holy, irrevocable word.
How could I lie to my loving servant David?
36–37 Sons of David will continue to reign on his throne,
and their kingdom will endure as long as the sun is in the sky.
This covenant will be an unbreakable promise that
I have established for all time.”
Pause in his presence

I love the words spoken about David that show how much God loved and cared about him. Verses twenty and twenty-one were written for all who walk in obedience to Him. I am greatly encouraged by them as we continue this road of cancer in Doc's pancreas.

I have chosen David as my loving servant and exalted him.
I have anointed him as king with the oil of my holiness.
21 I will be strength to him and I will give him
my grace to sustain him no matter what comes.
22 

Yes! God chose us to be His servants. I love the word picture of Him anointing us with the oil of holiness. That is exactly where our strength comes from to not just get through these 'tough' days but to thrive in them. His love, mercy, and grace are what I lean upon. As life on this earth becomes tougher, my eyes continue to be on heaven. Matthew Henry wrote of these verses:

He is the mighty God. This is the Redeemer appointed for us, who alone is able to complete the work of our salvation. Let us seek an interest in these blessings, by the witness of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

Amen! I am so blessed to walk in the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. I do not have to fear pancreatic cancer in my husband. I do not have to fear the coronavirus. I do not have to fear when the Lord will return. Plain and simple. I do not have to fear. All I must do is walk the road of obedience as I live out II Timothy 1:7 in His love and empowerment. When the days get hard, I must press into His strength more. When I feel like I am falling apart, I must remember I am not alone. When I start to question the 'what-ifs' or the 'whens' of life, I must remember God knows and that is all that matters. I refuse to allow the enemy an open door but instead will stand strong in my faith. Some days are harder than others. It is so hard to see the one you love be in constant pain. But God is our strength. He blesses us with periods of time with little to no pain. He knows we need such times. He also gives us such times to make memories that are so precious. None of us know how long we have to be on this earth but we all have the choice on where we will spend eternity. I need to get better at sharing that knowledge with others. I need to get better at sharing His love in a way that will make others desire to love Him too. I need to get better at leaning into the Lord's strength so I do not allow the enemy any open door into my life. Plain and simple. I need to get better. This morning the Lord brought to my mind a song one of my little girls sent me a video of her singing called Your Name Is Power. 

Your name is power over darkness
Freedom for the captives
Mercy for the broken and the hopeless
Your name is faithful in the battle
Glory in the struggle
Mighty it won't let us down or fail us
Your name is power

Yes! All I have to do is speak His name and His peace comes over me. His name over and over again in my mind is all it takes to feel an abundance of His strength. Woo hoo!

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for Your love, mercy, and grace! Thank You for the reminder of Your anointing on my life through the words of Psalm 89! Thank You for the reminder of the empowerment of Your Name through this song! Thank You for giving Doc another day of life on this earth! May You continue to give him strength. May he feel Your empowerment today in a new, different way. May others who are battling cancer be in relationship with You so they can feel it too. This morning I ask for You to continue to be with: Holly as she started chemo; David; Little Richie as he gets closer to his last chemo; Mandy's husband and father; June; Kandi; my pastor friend; a pastor's wife who is seeking answers for treatment; Lisa; Mike; Amanda; Mick; and so many others. I pray for more people to realize the need to share Your love with others. I also pray for You to become more real to those who are in relationship with You so they will die to self so Your Holy Spirit can work in and through them in a mighty way. Lord, cleanse me so You can fill me. May You shine brightly through me today in a way like never before. May I be more intentional in loving with Your love. I praise You for the good results for Dale's testing. I praise You for the way You spoke to the husband/father whose wife and unborn baby were killed in the car accident. May You continue to be his strength in the days ahead. I also pray as we approach Jeremy's birthday You will continue to give strength to his family as they reflect upon the good memories of when he was on this earth. Thank You Father for being My Strength! Amen.