Jehovah Uzzi

The Lord is their strength, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed. Psalm 28:8 (nkjv)

David wrote this psalm in the midst of civil war among the people of Israel. This mighty man of God found himself in a time of extreme crisis—domestically, nationally, financially, personally, and relationally. Absalom, David’s son, had hijacked the kingdom and sought to put his father to death. Here in the middle of the Judean wilderness in the blackness of night, David cried out to the Lord. He compared his situation to falling into a deep pit (see Psalm 28:1). David was weak, his strength was gone. Without God’s direct intervention, David knew he would perish. In this hopeless situation, God revealed Himself to David as Jehovah Uzzi, which means “the Lord is my strength.”

In December 1988, I lost my dearest and closest friend, my mother, to breast cancer. The months prior to her death were horrific. Around Thanksgiving of 1988, doctors told us that the cancer had exploded throughout Mom’s body and she would not live long. At the time, Mac and I pastored a growing church in Virginia and we had three very young children. We committed that I would travel back and forth to my parents’ home in South Carolina and help care for my mom during those last weeks. In her final days, I moved home and helped my dad care for her around the clock.

Day after day, I watched my Mom grow weaker, and part of me weakened too. I prayed for strength, but as Mom slipped into a coma, I realized that my strength was exhausted. Physically and emotionally, I was depleted. It was during that crisis in my life that God led me to this great passage in the book of Psalms. Like David, I realized that I could not survive the heartache without God’s strength. Psalm 28:6 reads, “Blessed be the Lord, because He has heard the voice of my supplications!” (Psalm 28:6, nkjv). Jesus taught me that He is my strength. He truly is Jehovah Uzzi.

Dear Lord Jesus, I pray for Your strength. I trust in Your sovereignty to see me through this day and through all of our tomorrows. I ask that You renew my strength, day by day, as I seek Your will. Amen.