The LORD is my strength and my shield. My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I give thanks to Him in song. (Psalm 28:7)
A 9/11 Miracle
In the United States, Patriot Day occurs on September 11 of each year in memory of the victims killed in the terrorist attacks in 2001. Genelle Guzman-McMillan was in the World Trade Center during the bombings. With God’s help, she stayed alive for 27 hours, trapped in a collapsed building of twisted steel and smoking debris.
Her head was pinned between two pieces of concrete. Her legs and right hand were sandwiched between pieces of a stairway. Raised a Roman Catholic in Trinidad (Caribbean), Genelle had fallen away from the Lord. Now in the rubble, she called out, “God, please save me. Give me a second chance. I promise I will change my life and follow You.” Genelle was the last person to be rescued from the World Trade Center.1
A Powerful Verse
Deep down, we all know that turning to the Lord and surrendering to Him is the only remedy for disaster. Psalm 28:7 is a single verse with 6 big ideas. It is a window into many Bible truths. Meditating on this one sentence can train and transform us. God the Holy Spirit works through His Holy Word to save and renew us. That’s our deepest need.
The Lord is My Strength
The name “LORD” (all capitals in English Bibles) translates God’s most personal Old Testament name (Yahweh in Hebrew). When God promised to rescue His people after 400 years of slavery in Egypt, He reminded Moses of this name, the LORD.2 It means that God is the Creator and Upholder of the universe, the Promise Keeper, and the All-Powerful One who is on our side.3
The LORD will march out like a champion-warrior. With a shout He will raise the battle cry and will triumph over His enemies… Jesus says, “In this world you will have trouble (tribulation). But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (Isaiah 42:13; John 16:33)
The LORD reveals His character by many different names in Scripture so that we may know Him better and call on Him for help.4 Christ empowers us to overcome internal struggles like discouragement, fear, doubt, envy, bitterness, and ungodly desires. He also wards off external attacks from Satan and human enemies.
You hear me when I call. You are my morning song. Though darkness fills the night, it cannot hide the light. Whom shall I fear? My strength is in Your Name, for You alone can save. You will deliver me. Yours is the victory! Whom shall I fear? I know Who goes before me. I know Who stands behind. The One who reigns forever, He is a friend of mine. The God of angel armies is always by my side.5
The Lord Is My Shield
In Bible times, this was a soldier’s defensive weapon. It made the difference between life and death. Sometimes that shield was large enough to protect the entire body. Some were made of wood overlaid with canvas and leather, and when soaked in water, a shield could snuff out flaming arrows.
King David prayed, “Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in You I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of Your wings until the disaster has passed.”6
God keeps telling us in His Scriptures that when we belong to Him, He will protect us. He is our Shield, Fortress, Shelter, and Hiding Place.7 When we call on Christ and follow Him, He covers us spiritually and helps us to resist the devil’s schemes.
Prayer
Lord, when we are weak or weary, give us some of Your almighty strength, and surround us with Your loving presence like a shield. Do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil and the evil one. Yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever! Amen.
My Heart Trusts in Him
Trusting God involves our entire personality—mind, heart, and action. We must embrace Christ, the whole Person, with our whole self.
- In our mind, we believe what the Lord reveals about Himself in the Bible. We know the Christ we are following. We understand the facts of Jesus’ sinless life, death, resurrection, aliveness, and promised return.
- In our heart, we are convinced that we are sinners who need God to save us. We are confident that Jesus loves us unconditionally, brings us into His family, and rescues us as often as we need it.
- In our will (the freedom and responsibility to make moral choices), we commit and daily decide to depend on and obey Christ as our Redeemer-King.
Trusting Christ means leaning and resting on His everlasting arms. Jesus is so good and loving that He wants the best for us. He’s so wise that He knows the best for us. He is so strong that He does the best for us even when we don’t see that.
Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand,
Never foe can follow, never traitor stand.
Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care,
Not a blast of hurry can touch the spirit there.
Stayed upon Lord Jesus, hearts are fully blessed,
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.9
I am Helped
As we recognize who Christ is and commit to Him, He befriends and boosts us, heals and helps us, sanctifies and sustains us. A soldier in wartime wrote to his captain: “I knew that wherever I was, that you thought of me, and if I got in a tight place, you would come.”10 Christ is the Friend who sticks closer than a brother. He gives us mercy and grace in our times of need.11
Jesus says, “So do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”12
Prayer
Lord, our help comes from You, the Maker and Master of heaven and earth. Your ways bring us great reward. If we try our own way first and only turn to You as a last resort, that dishonors You and hurts us. Help us not to be foolish, but to always run to You and follow Your commands. Amen.13
My Heart Leaps for Joy
Praise the Lord, O my soul. All my inmost being, praise His holy name and forget not all His benefits. He forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases. He redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion. He satisfies your desires with good things. (Psalm 103:1-5)
Pastor Lloyd Ogilvie (1930–2019) once wrote about the worst year of his life. His wife had five major surgeries plus radiation and chemotherapy, several of his staff members quit, and he was drained and depleted. But in the midst of these disasters, the Lord Jesus gave him “artesian joy,” like water springing up from an underground river. Although Ogilvie felt beaten down, God gave him the assurance of being deeply loved and the certainty that nothing could separate him from Christ. It was not gushy or jolly happiness, but a strong and refreshing flow of the Holy Spirit in him, energizing his soul.
Jesus says, “I have taught you so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be full, complete, and overflowing.” (John 15:11)
Prayer
I will praise You, LORD, with all my heart. I will tell of all Your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in You. I will sing praises to Your name, Most High. You are a Refuge for the oppressed, a Stronghold in times of trouble. We know Your Name and trust in You, for You, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek You. Help us to follow You all our days. Amen.14
I Give Thanks to Him in Song
I met Edward Davis in prison ministry.15 His traumatic life would have crushed many people. He has spent most of his 62 years in orphanages, psychiatric hospitals, and prisons. Yet in a recent worship service, he came to the microphone and sang:
I love Your voice. You have led me through the fire.
In darkest night, You are close like no other.
I’ve known You as a Father. I’ve known You as a Friend.
And I have lived in the goodness of God.
‘Cause all my life, You have been faithful.
And all my life You have been so, so good.
With every breath that I am able
I will sing of the goodness of God.15
Edward reminded us that instead of getting stuck on “woe is me,” we can learn to say, “Look what God has done for me!” Both Scripture and science tell us that gratitude is healing and powerful. Let’s ask God to give us eyes of faith to see His goodness in the middle of our hardest times.
Let us praise the Lord for His great love and for the wonderful things He has done for us. For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. (Psalm 107:8-9)
Prayer
Lord Jesus, You are our Strength, our Song, and our Salvation. You turn our mourning into dancing, remove our heavy sadness, and clothe us with Your joy. Help our hearts sing to You and not be silent. O LORD our God, let us shine Your beauty to those who do not yet know or obey You. Amen.17
Why not memorize our key verse?
The LORD is my strength and my shield.
My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.
My heart leaps for joy, and I give thanks to Him in song.
We just prayerfully studied each part of Psalm 28:7! Notice the progression in the six phrases. When we prayerfully mull over any portion of Scripture, God’s word comes alive to us, our souls are nourished, and Christ truly changes us!
Notes (various Bible translations): 1 Genelle Guzman-McMillan, Angel in the Rubble (2014). 2 Ex 3:13-14. 3 Heb 1:1-4; 2 Cor 1:20; Rom 8:31-34. 4 Many lists of God’s names in Scripture exist. See for example “The Names of God,” Love Worth Finding, lwf.org/names-of-god, 2025. 5 Tomlin, et al, “Whom Shall I Fear,” 2012. For song Scriptures, see thebereantest. com/chris-tomlin-whom-shall-i-fear-god-of-angel-armies. 6 Ps 57:1. 7 See Prov 18:10; Ps 27:1, 31:20, 32:7, 46:1, 62:7-8, 91:2. 8 Col 1:13-14; Eph 1:4-8. 9 Frances Ridley Havergal, “Like a River Glorious,” 1876. 10 Letter from William Tecumseh Sherman to Ulysses S. Grant in the American Civil War. 11 Prov 17:17, 18:24; Heb 4:16. 12 Isa 41:10. 13 See Ps 121:2, 19:7-11. 14 See Ps 9:1-2, 9-10. 15 This is not his real name, but the story is true. I have known him for 15 years. 16 Johnson, et al, “Goodness of God,” 2019; recorded by CeCe Winans, 2021. 17 Prayer based on Ps 30:11-12, 118:14; Isa 61:3; Phil 2:15.