He is our resource for strength

We've talked about how to hold on to God as our refuge; that happens as we gain knowledge of Him and trust Him more.

Today let's look at how we can "draw" our resources from Him. The thesaurus says synonyms for that word are to "gather" or to "collect." If we draw on God as our resource, we can gather strength from Him. When we know Christ as our Savior, we have His life within us. His Spirit is that river of life that we talked about last week; it springs up within us daily and it's sufficient for our needs. Our Savior is the One the psalmist alluded to:

There is a river whose streams make the city of God happy,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High. (v 4)

Now, this all sounds well and good.

But how do we "draw from Him"? How do we make Him our resource for strength?

First, we drink from Him daily. We have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling in us! We are a "holy dwelling place of the Most High." What a great privilege to be able to ask for His strength each day. He will refresh us. He will bring us gladness and joy.

Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; (Acts 3:19)

For I give plenty of water to the weary ones, and refresh everyone who languishes. (Jeremiah 31:25)

If we are honest, do we draw from Him daily? Do we drink from that river the Holy Spirit provides? Do we have a time when we meet with Him in prayer?  The moment we get up from our knees do we start relying again on our own strength, or do we walk each day depending upon Him? The river is there -- we must drink each day or we will dry up spiritually!

Second, we meet with His people. In verse five, the psalmist was talking about the "city of God," Jerusalem, as well as believers:

God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns. (v. 5)

In that time, God dwelled with His people in a special sense. The temple was in Jerusalem, and it was the center for worship. Today, God lives in every one of us believers individually, but there is a special sense still, that He dwells with His people corporately as well. He is there when we gather together in his name.

 For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst. (Matthew 18:20)

I don't think that God intended for us to live or face trials in isolation. We need each other for encouragement, for bearing each other's burdens, and to stimulate each other to love and good deeds. The Lord is the river, but believers can act as streams. We can encourage; we can pray. 

This is how we will draw on Him as our resource and rely on His sufficient strength, instead of our own.