Ascribe strength to God;
His majesty is over Israel
And His strength is in the skies.
O God, [You are] awesome from Your sanctuary.
The God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to the people.
Blessed be God!
Psalm 68:34-35 NASB
There was a time in my life when I felt so overwhelmed by the lies of the enemy that I thought I would not be able to continue in ministry. When God called me to share my story of deliverance publicly I honestly thought I would lose everything, especially family and friends. The giant of a lie that told me I would be utterly mocked and rejected was put down by the might of God’s love for me. As of this writing, that was over 33 years ago. Now that I am facing the giant of Parkinson’s, I must ask myself if God’s love is mightier than my disease. All I can say is His love is a foundational rock where I find safety from the overwhelming lies of the enemy as they regard my malady. My God is mightier than any sickness.
There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 1 John 4:18 NASB
Sometimes circumstances seem insurmountable. Sometimes problems seem too difficult to overcome. Sometimes relationships collapse and loneliness seems to be the only thing we have left. Sometimes our health fails and our physical bodies are invaded by unforeseen forces beyond our ability to understand. Here’s what I have come to know in all my years of dealing with such issues. God is greater than my circumstances. God is greater than my problems. God is the one relationship that can never be broken. God is greater than my ailments. God is greater than…
Your way, God, is holy;
What god is great like our God?
Psalm 77:13 NASB
For Your righteousness, God, [reaches] to the heavens,
You who have done great things;
God, who is like You?
Psalm 71:19 NASB
I am not able to heal myself of sin. God is able and demonstrated that ability on the cross and in the shedding of His blood fueled by resurrection power. I am not able to heal my physical ailment even though I eat right and exercise and follow my doctor’s orders with precision. God is able and demonstrates that ability in causing my body and mind to work in spite of all the physical strikes against me. God is able to take something we find hurtful and make something beautiful from it. Our God has the ability to waste nothing. Let’s let Him do that for us today.
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
Because the LORD anointed me
To bring good news to the humble;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim release to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To grant those who mourn [in] Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The cloak of praise instead of a disheartened spirit.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.
Isaiah 61:1-3 NASB
Jesus is more than a one time Savior. We often think of His salvation beginning and ending with our being born again - saved by His grace - but reality is that we never stop needing a Savior! I need Jesus to save me from my own stinkin’ thinkin’. I need Jesus to save me from my physical ailments. I need Jesus to save me from my emotional traumas and fear. I need Jesus to save me by showing me His point of view in my life. We have a Savior for all times. Let’s admit we need Him as such and be saved as often as necessary from whatever we need saving from!
It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost. 1 Timothy 1:15 NASB
We have talked a lot about Jesus being our Savior, but I think it is vital that we understand that His very name - His very essence - is salvation. If I am being honest (and I am!), the main things I need saving from are my own thoughts. The enemy cannot be everywhere at once. He plants a thought in our mind and walks away…and we have a choice as to what we will do with that thought. We can either accept it or we can reject it. Our trouble comes when we accept it without running it through the filter of God’s love and Word. Having Parkinson’s makes this more real than ever for me. I cannot afford the anxiety believing a lie causes my physical body and mind. I must live, eat, and breathe the Word of God if I am to survive. God’s Word is the Bread of Life…and it will save me from anxious thoughts by providing me with the necessary nutrients of Truth!
The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace,
Because he trusts in You.
Trust in the LORD forever,
For in GOD the LORD, [we have] an everlasting Rock.
Isaiah 26:3-4 NASB
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 NASB
Regardless of what our circumstances are, our God is bigger and mightier than those circumstances. And the extra good news about that truth? God does not leave us to wallow in the place of victimhood but causes us to walk as victors in triumph through the power and might of our relationship with Jesus Christ! Walk in the power and might of our God today…and remember this: Our God is MIGHTY!
Dennis Jernigan
To hear The Dennis Jernigan Podcast and the song Our God Is Mighty, go to http://podcast.dennisjernigan.com/e/our-god-is-mighty/
Photo courtesy of https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2013/12/16/02/59/directory-229117_1280.jpg