Day 4 - Growing Strong to Carry On

“He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.” (Psalm 40:2, NLT)

“My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.” (Psalm 73:26, NLT)

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.” (Matthew 7:24-25, NLT)

The first three months of 2022 rocked my world. Six friends, all younger than me, died from various causes. Shockwaves of grief struck with no time to recover between them. Then my only brother contracted COVID and landed in the intensive care unit on a ventilator. As he teetered between life and death, my husband and I received an email from someone with whom we’d shared friendship for years. That day, he attacked our integrity for not sharing his political views. His criticism shook us to the core.

Maybe you’ve experienced similar seasons. You’ve lost loved ones or watched them suffer, helpless to rescue them from pain. Maybe a friend or relative spoke words that broke your heart, or someone you trusted chose to betray you. The ground on which you stood seemed to crumble and fall away beneath your feet, and you wondered if you’d ever recover.

In times like this, we find strength to go on by living from the truth of who God is as revealed in His name Yahweh Tsuri, which means “The LORD Is My Rock.” Tsuri comes from the Hebrew root word tsur, which appears more than seventy times in the Bible. It can refer to a rock, a rocky hill, or a mountain, and it metaphorically implies strength and refuge. This compound name depicts God as a personal source of strength and a firm foundation. He is permanent and unshakable, even in the face of seismic challenges and transitions.

King David referred to this name when he wrote, “Praise the LORD, who is my rock [Yahweh Tsuri]. He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle” (Psalm 144:1 NLT). Like you and me, David also experienced the shockwaves of grief and betrayal when King Saul—his father-in-law, nonetheless—had grown jealous of David’s military successes and sought to kill him.

With Saul’s army hot on his heels, David ran for his life and hid in caves. Some theologians believe David survived by living this way for fifteen years! That’s a long time to look over your shoulder and be separated from your family. Amid the shockwaves David encountered, he clung to the truth about Yahweh Tsuri. In Psalm 62:6, he wrote, “[God] alone is my rock and salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken” (NLT).

My friend, the truth about Yahweh Tsuri remains steadfast today. When our world shakes, we cannot trust money, our career, material possessions, a relationship, or our health to provide a solid foundation and refuge. God alone is our personal source of strength. The ground beneath us might give way, but the challenges we face cannot topple us when we’re standing on the Rock.