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This morning I read a verse, a single verse, & I cannot stop thinking about all that this verse encompasses.

“I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word”                       (Psalm 138:2 NIV). 

God has exalted two things above everything else, above all that was created both on earth & in heaven. Those two things are….

                                            His Name & His Word.

That in & of itself should stress the importance of both. It should speak of the power that is to be found in both. Both are without rival. All that He has recorded in The Bible will come to pass.

I found it interesting that the Hebrew word used here for “word” means “a speech”. God has given a speech & had it recorded for us so that we would always have it before us. It has come down through the ages & will continue to thrive forever. Not a single word will be added to it nor be removed from it. It is God’s spoken word to us. Individually. Personally. May we remember that each time our Bible sits in our laps. We are holding God’s precious speech to us.

The next verse captured my attention:

When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted.” (verse 3).

When I call on Him, 3 things happen:

  1. He answers
  2. He makes me bold
  3. He makes me stouthearted

Stouthearted. Not a word we use much these days. Actually I read that & thought, “Who is He calling stout?” Oh, may it be me! At no other time, would I desire to be called stout than when it is referring to spiritually!! Seriously.

That word refers to our inner man. It is when God Himself breathes His life into us, building us up, to make sure that we are able to overcome. While from all appearances on the outside, we have remained the same size, what has happened on the inside??? We have grown to epic proportions.

Catch that verse in a few other versions:

  • “my strength of soul you increased” (ESV)
  • “You increased strength within me” (HCSB)
  • you made my life large with strength” (The Message) (LOL – gives new meaning to the expression, “Larger than life”!!!!)
  • “You made me bold and energized me” (NET)
  • “you encourage me by giving me strength” (NLT)

In God’s kingdom, there is no room for lean. This is not a time for spiritual weight loss. No dieting here. May we feast on His Word. Taking in all that we can each day. It is then that we will find ourselves to be strong, bold, energized & encouraged.

We will find ourselves to be stout. Oops! I mean, stouthearted 🙂

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