Exodus 15:2

The Song of Moses and Miriam (When God set the people of Israel free against impossible odds.)

    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.

Strength – Sometimes life just seems too hectic, too hard, too much to cope with, too many demands. It seems like we just haven’t got the energy, the strength to deal with all that is thrown our way. We just want to hide, even if it’s for just a little while.

But in our world we have to be strong, we have to stand on our own two feet, stiff upper lip and all that – right? Wrong, at least according to the Bible.

We often think of the heroes of the Bible as impossibly strong and courageous but more often than not they couldn’t cope and so they turned again to God.

And guess what? God did amazing things because God is strong, God has got all the answers, God will carry us when we are weak and God will be our hiding place.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. I Corinthians 1:25

Read – as a meditation for the group or for individuals.

Psalm 32

Of David. A maskil. Possibly Haskalah (Hebrew: השכלה; "enlightenment," "intellect," from sekhel, "common sense") Also a musical term.

 Blessed is he
       whose transgressions are forgiven,
       whose sins are covered.

 Blessed is the man
       whose sin the LORD does not count against him
       and in whose spirit is no deceit.

 When I kept silent,
       my bones wasted away
       through my groaning all day long.

 For day and night
       your hand was heavy upon me;
       my strength was sapped
       as in the heat of summer.
       Selah

 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
       and did not cover up my iniquity.
       I said, "I will confess
       my transgressions to the LORD "—
       and you forgave
       the guilt of my sin.
       Selah

 Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you
       while you may be found;
       surely when the mighty waters rise,
       they will not reach him.

 7 You are my hiding place;
       you will protect me from trouble
       and surround me with songs of deliverance.
       Selah

 8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
       I will counsel you and watch over you.

 9 Do not be like the horse or the mule,
       which have no understanding
       but must be controlled by bit and bridle
       or they will not come to you.

 10 Many are the woes of the wicked,
       but the LORD's unfailing love
       surrounds the man who trusts in him.

 11 Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous;
       sing, all you who are upright in heart!