Be exalted in your strength, LORD; we will sing and praise your might. – Psalm 21:13

Today’s Scripture Reading (April 9, 2016): Psalm 20 & 21

Power and strength are actually strange words. We think that the one with the biggest guns win every fight; that if we have a large military, then people will listen to us. But that isn’t always the case. Sometimes it is. On recent lists of the most influential countries and those with the greatest military strength, the United States topped both lists. But as you look further down the list that is where the similarity ends. The second most powerful military belongs to Russia, but they drop down to sixth on the influence list. China has the third largest military and is fourth on the list of influence. The fourth most powerful military belongs to India, but as far as world presence and world influence they don’t crack the top ten. So when we speak of power, the question that has to be asked is this, are we speaking about military or physical strength, or do we mean influence?

So David makes this assertion in the close of Psalm 22, “Be exalted in your strength, Lord; we will sing and praise your might.” Our question is does he mean physical strength or the idea of presence and influence. And from the rest of the Psalm, the answer is obvious. David is talking about physical strength. This psalm is about a military God who is there in the midst of the battle with his people. And there is no doubt that to David, who was really trying to establish the boundaries of a nation in its infancy, this was extremely important. But I do sometimes wonder if the priority on the strength of God to win the battle and heal is slightly overstressed, both in David’s culture and in ours. It is the most obvious demonstration of the strength of God, but it might not meet our greatest need of God.

David was king over a nation that from the very beginning was supposed to hold influence over the nations. That command is found in the opening words of God to Abraham.

“I will make you into a great nation,
    and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
    and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:2-3).

It is really an absurd notion. When was the last time you heard a presidential candidate announce that he wanted to become President because God had placed on his heart a desire to bless Mexico. Yet, this is God’s command to Abraham. The world will be a better place because your descendant’s will be an influence and a blessing on the world. This is how you will know that you are accomplishing my desires, the world will be a better place.

Unfortunately, the descendants of Abraham have seldom been able to live up to that level of influence. Neither the Jews nor Islam has made it their personal duty to be a blessing to the world. And the Christian Church, the children of Abraham by faith, also seem to have ignored this command. We all just want to recreate people who look like us and believe like us.

But this remains the challenge. Because of God’s influence flowing through his people, and we can include all three of the major groups of descendants in this challenge, Israel, Islam, and Christianity, then the world should be a better and safer place because we are here. Because God’s power and his influence is flowing through us.

Are you ready to make the challenge a reality?

And just in case you were wondering, here is the Top Ten Most Powerful National ranked by their presence and influence.

1)      United States

2)      United Kingdom

3)      Germany

4)      China

5)      France

6)      Russia

7)      Japan

8)      Netherlands

9)      Canada

10)  Italy

http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-top-ten/world-top-ten-powerful-countries-map.html  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 22