Psalm 89:14-17
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
Mercy and truth go before Your face.
15 Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!
They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance.
16 In Your name they rejoice all day long,
And in Your righteousness they are exalted.
17 For You are the glory of their strength,
And in Your favor our horn is exalted.
1 Samuel 2:1
And Hannah prayed and said:
“My heart rejoices in the Lord;
My horn is exalted in the Lord.
I smile at my enemies,
Because I rejoice in Your salvation.
Remember the end of the theme for Marty Stouffer’s Wild America?
Thrilled me every time.
Muscular Bighorn rams throwing themselves fully committed…
At each other!
Crack!
Strength met strength.
The impact rippled through both rams as the force traveled through their bodies.
The message traveled through their bodies.
“This territory is exclusive.”
Exclusively mine.
Your strength communicates.
You use it to say yes.
Or no.
“No, you can’t take that.”
“No, I won’t give up.”
“No, I won’t stop believing”
Although yesses are powerful, we must get comfortable with the utility of no.
You’re gonna need it a lot more than yesses because of…
The No:Yes Ratio
At least 3 noes for every 1 meaningful yes.
This ratio is significant because meaning and purpose are established through your strength to say no.
No to your excessive appetites.
No to your fears.
No to your laziness.
No to your enemies.
So prepare yourself for impact.
Every goal pursued, every vow kept, every vision sustained requires strength to fight more battles than there are rewards to claim.
The Secret to Strength…
Is trusting in your strength and caring deeply about what’s at stake.
What if your strength isn’t enough to rely on to survive all the noes necessary?
It’s not.
But God would give His strength if you would receive.
His strength is Jesus’ righteousness. We receive it by accepting His offered favor.
Jesus Christ’s strength then becomes your own.
And you can trust in that strength.
What if you don’t care deeply enough about the territory you occupy?
Then I would ask what territory would matter to you.
Go there.
What use are your horns if you never use them?
Find a place, a goal, a work, a people worth fighting for.
God wants to win victory with you through your strength being offered to Him.
God favors you if you are in Christ Jesus.
And it’s because He favors you that He wants to exalt your horn over your enemies.
The sound of victory is sweet.
Every time.
Crack!
Pastor Joshua
Have anything you’d like to add?
Leave a comment below!
LeAnn VanBuren says
I love this! As I am reading the part that reads “crack” I think about the popular 80’s song “Whip it” , song by Devo.”Crack that whip
Give the past a slip Step on a crack, Break your mama’s back.When a problem comes along You must whip it Before the cream sits out too long
You must whip it When something’s going wrong You must whip it.
Joshua Cole says
😂 I love the Devo reference, LeAnn! Keep whippin’ it.
Kelli says
This is great and so timing for me. Though MY strength is weak in my “NO’s” and It seems I’m drowning and can’t survive .. I CAN survive and rely on God’s neverending supply of HIS strength for my “No’s”.
Joshua Cole says
God’s grace is enough for us, isn’t it? I’m rooting for you, Kelli!
William Seymour says
Amen
Today I learned how to spell noes!
Years ago I attended a Messianic congregational worship service. Everyone there was invited to a service that evening to share a meal and attend another worship service which included the blowing of shofars for Rosh Hashana. Everyone brought their shofars, but since I did not own a shofar, I brought my cornet. The Rabbi gave me a funny look, and lent me a shofar to blow.
Recently I understood through the why the blowing of the shofar is especially irritating to the devil. The animal horn is a universal symbol of strength and victory. Which may be why satan likes to portray himself as a horned creature, a goat or ram. When we blow the shofar we are declaring that Christ has completely disarmed and triumphed over him and given us his territory!
Joshua Cole says
Cool. Through Jesus Christ–Yeshua Hamashiach–we have victory over Satan!