“My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.” (Ps 73:26 AV)
One wonders why our hearts have to fail to begin with. If God is the strength of our hearts, and He has unlimited strength, then why do our hearts fail? To what the psalmist is referring is his literal flesh and heart. He is speaking of old age. If one continues in this psalm, it is evident the writer’s eyes are on eternity. He speaks of old age. He speaks of having more he loves in heaven than he does on earth. The writer, Asaph, was David’s personal composer of psalms. Psalm 72 was the last of David’s psalms. Chronologically speaking, that is. Some believe Psalm 73 was written for David as a remembrance after he had died. This would make sense. It could be said this psalm was written for someone who was aging and getting ready to depart from this life into the next. The takeaway is, that if God can be our strength in our weakest and most vulnerable time of life, then He can be so any time of life. If He is our strength in time of death, He can surely be our strength in life.
Over the years, I have seen many people go through very deep waters. One comes to mind almost immediately. Mike is one of the most humblest men I have ever known. But Mike was no pushover. He owned his own business. He served the LORD in our church faithfully and when it came to fighting spiritual battles, he was relentless. Mike had a Jeep CJ-7 with roll bars. These vehicles were notorious for tipping over. Mike had gone around a curve a bit too fast and rolled that Jeep right into a ditch. He was airlifted to a level-one trauma hospital where is underwent several life-saving surgeries. It was a miracle he survived that crash. I cannot remember how long he was in that hospital. Something tells me it was over a month. Perhaps as long as three. I remember going to see him the day after the crash. I had never seen someone in such bad shape before. Yet, that is not the most amazing thing about this saint. Before he trusted Christ, Mike had a substance abuse issue. The LORD saved him and delivered him from it. So, when the time came to discharge him, the doctor offered serious pain medications for his rehabilitation. The last thing he wanted to do was to relapse back into that old life, so he refused. This man has more metal in his body than the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz. When the weather changes, he is in a great deal of pain. Yet, he will not take pain meds stronger than over-the-counter stuff. How can he do that? How can he make it without some relief? As far as I am concerned, Mike is a hero, unlike all others. His strength is the LORD in life and in death.
I have seen many people pass away into eternity. What I can tell you is the measure of God’s grace and strength is immeasurable. When the LORD calls the saint home, the strength that is evident is beyond normal comprehension. So, if the LORD can be our strength during the deepest time of life, surely He can be our strength through the rest of it. If the LORD can lead us to eternity with grace and peace, surely He can guide us through our pilgrimage with that same strength and peace. The key is to yield to His strength rather than to try to make it in our own strength. It will not work. We must leave it with Him, take a moment to rest in His strength, and go one more step. He is there. He is always there. It is just a matter of letting God be God.
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