Shifting Blame Doesn’t Strengthen

When the Lord strengthens His children, He does so by pointing to Himself rather than them.   Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!   ~~~   Shifting blame does not strengthen you in the LORD. You notice that the men in David’s camp put all their eyes on David, and think that he alone carries the guilt of the situation. And many times, this is the path that is recommended to us as well. Get it off your chest, and shift the blame. The first thing I want us to notice is that David strengthened himself in the LORD. All capital letters used in LORD, which is God’s personal name that He gave to Israel as the name He was to be known by them—Yahweh. The name represents the eternal, covenantal, promise-keeping, never failing aspect of God Almighty. God’s name is “I Am.” It is not “I Was,” or “I Will Be” because God does not change. We can put our full trust in God because he is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He does not change. He is “I Am.” It is means that our God is eternal and completely self-sufficient, in need of no one, depending on no one. This is the God that David is finding His strength in. The eternal, self-sufficient, promise-keeping God of the Israelites, the living God over all the earth. Now why is this important to know? This is important to know so that we do not confuse being strengthened in the LORD with getting a pep talk from the LORD. A pep talk causes you to look at yourself: “You are great!” “You deserve this!” “Give yourself some grace!” “Pour into your self” All this self-care business is nauseating. I have literally seen full grown adults want to be praised and championed because they had their teeth brushed by 10am. It was like they had lit the Olympic Torch or something. You can read about men who are in process of “becoming the best versions of themselves.” When the LORD strengthens His children, He does not point their attention to themselves, but rather to HIMSELF. We do not gain strength and courage and resolve and resiliency by looking in the mirror. WE gain it, “IN THE LORD.” When we come to the LORD with are faced with ourselves, with our sin, but in the LORD we are reminded that HE is a forgiving God, and He is not backing away from His promises because HE is a covenantal God. He points us to Himself and says to find our strength in Him!