Strong

After the bombings at the Boston Marathon, the phrase “Boston Strong” was printed on t-shirts, banners, and buildings. After Hurricane Harvey hit Houston hard, the phrase “Houston Strong” was seen everywhere. I believe that the word strong was meant to mean resilient, determined, and willing to sacrifice. But as with all popular expressions it has morphed over time to imply self-determination, pride, arrogance, and invincible. That change is unfortunate, because these new meanings are simply not true. We are not invincible and as much as we want to deny it, we are not the sole determiner of our fates.

Psalm 95:6-7 says, “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand” The time has come for us to worship God as Creator and Sustainer of all things. The time has come for us to acknowledge that we are not strong, but instead we depend upon God’s power. The time has come for us to kneel before God and not to stand in false hope.