This mini-series on strength that happens to fall within a series on the Psalms must come to an end today - but as I do that I would like you understand that we have only taken a taste of what the Scripture says about this important topic. 

Why was this so important to David?

How important is this to you?

David knew right from the start that the only real strength that he had was strength given to him from the Lord.

Are we strong in the Lord?

How can this be accomplished?

Three principles:

When do I need the Lord’s strength?

David finds strength in the Lord.

1SA 30:3 When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. 5 David's two wives had been captured--Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.

Moses sang about the strength of the Lord.

EX 15:1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD:

  "I will sing to the LORD,

    for he is highly exalted.

  The horse and its rider

    he has hurled into the sea.

  EX 15:2 The LORD is my strength and my song;

    he has become my salvation.

  He is my God, and I will praise him,

    my father's God, and I will exalt him.

EX 15:13 "In your unfailing love you will lead

    the people you have redeemed.

  In your strength you will guide them

    to your holy dwelling.

Strength and Joy are where the Lord dwells!

1CH 16:25 For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;

    he is to be feared above all gods.

  1CH 16:26 For all the gods of the nations are idols,

    but the LORD made the heavens.

  1CH 16:27 Splendor and majesty are before him;

    strength and joy in his dwelling place.

The joy of the Lord is you strength!

  NE 8:10 Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

This is what the Canadians call a conundrum. 

JAS 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,

Over 50 times you will hear about joy just in the Psalms!

Notice Luke 10:17-20 - even Jesus was filled with joy of the Holy Spirit.

What is the second of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives?  Joy!

I quickly looked at 210 verses that all said - Joy!

I need the Lord’s strength as I need my daily bread.

"I need thee every hour, most precious Lord;

No tender voice like thine can peace afford."

"I need Thee every hour, stay thou nearby;

Temptations lose their power when Thou art nigh."

"I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain;

Come quickly and abide, or life is vain."

"I need Thee every hour, Most Holy One;

O make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son!"

"I need Thee, O I need Thee; Every hour I need thee!

O bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee."

Just as much as I need daily food in order to survive; I need the Lord daily strength to survive.

"This is the air I breathe; This is the air I breathe;

Thy holy presence, living in me."

"This is my daily bread; This is my daily bread;

Your holy Word, spoken to me."

"And I’m desperate for you.

And I’m lost without you."

Israel was to Love the Lord with all their strength.

    DT 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Moses found strength in the Lord.

DT 34:5 And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab, as the LORD had said. 6 He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. 7 Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. 8 The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over.

King Josiah is commended for loving God with all his strength.

  2KI 23:24 Furthermore, Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists, the household gods, the idols and all the other detestable things seen in Judah and Jerusalem. This he did to fulfill the requirements of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the temple of the LORD. 25 Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the LORD as he did--with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.

Isaiah says the Lord is the source of our strength.

ISA 40:28 Do you not know?

    Have you not heard?

  The LORD is the everlasting God,

    the Creator of the ends of the earth.

  He will not grow tired or weary,

    and his understanding no one can fathom.

  ISA 40:29 He gives strength to the weary

    and increases the power of the weak.

  ISA 40:30 Even youths grow tired and weary,

    and young men stumble and fall;

  ISA 40:31 but those who hope in the LORD

    will renew their strength.

  They will soar on wings like eagles;

    they will run and not grow weary,

    they will walk and not be faint.

ISA 12:2 Surely God is my salvation;

    I will trust and not be afraid.

  The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song;

    he has become my salvation."

Isaiah’s sad commentary on the children of God.

ISA 30:15 This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:

  "In repentance and rest is your salvation,

    in quietness and trust is your strength,

    but you would have none of it.

When do I need the Lord’s strength?