So first, this particular verse here is like the Nike slogan: just do it. Just do it.. Do you need help to misunderstand what God is saying here? So it’s not a whole lot to add to it. Just do what he says.

He says, have not I commanded you? God commands us to be strong, to be strong. Be strong in him. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might, in the power of his might, not in the power of our own might, not our own intellect, not our own thoughts, as it were.

But we are to be strong in him, and we get to be strong in him by spending time with him and submitting and yielding ourselves unto him and unto the power of his Spirit. Be strong. Be strong.

So this morning, know that God is commanding you to be strong. So be that. Say, Father, be it unto me according to your word.

Be of good courage. God wants us to be courageous and of good courage, not discouraged, but of good courage. Life can be discouraging at times. Things happen. Stuff happens to us in this life, and it can be discouraging. But we have to do like David did—encourage ourselves in the Lord.

Encourage yourself with God’s word. Encourage yourself that God is for you. He is not against you. God loves you, loves us with an everlasting love and he is going to be with us, and he says that in this verse.

So you encourage yourself when you need encouragement. Find someone who God will bring across your pathway to encourage you. But he says you be of good courage. Be it unto me according to your word, Lord.

Do not be afraid. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but he’s given one of power and love and of a sound mind. And sometimes it’s just what are we focusing on? What is your focus on?

And we need to be focusing on our heavenly Father—who he is, who he is to us, who we are to him. His divine ability, not our limitations, not what’s going on in the world, but we need to be focused on the Lord.

Don’t be afraid, because God doesn’t want us to be afraid. Don’t be dismayed. Don’t be disheartened. As David said, why are you cast down, O my soul? Hope in God. Do not be dismayed.

Stuff is going to happen, but God—God is our helper. He is our help in the time of trouble. For the Lord—and that word, Lord, is translated Yahweh. Some say Jehovah. But in the original text it is translated Yahweh. Your God is with you wheresoever you go.

And we know that the word of God tells us that we know him who has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” The word of God tells us that the word of faith is closer to us. It says it’s even in our heart, in our mouth.

God is already in us. And if you are born of his Spirit, God is in you. He is in you. He lives in us. He is always with us, whether we feel him or not.

God is with us. He is with us, and he promised never to leave us nor forsake us. He We will not be abandoned by him. He is closer to us than the very breath in our lungs. He is our life and he is with us. So be encouraged this morning.. Be strong. Be of good courage. Be courageous. Do not fear. Do not be dismayed.

The Lord your God, Yahweh your God, the covenant-keeping God, is with you always, wheresoever you go.

So Father, we thank you this morning. We thank you that you are with us. Thank you, Father. Whether we feel you or not, we have your word on it, and you don’t lie. Men lie, but you don’t lie. You don’t lie, God. There’s not a lie in you for one to come out of you. So we bless your holy name.

We thank you for your faithfulness. And we thank you, Father God, for all that you have done, all that you are doing, and that which you are about to do. We give you praise. We give you glory, and we give you honor.

Magnify yourself, Father, in the midst of your people. Be glorified in all the earth, Father. Be glorified in the heavens. Be glorified in every place of your dominion. And for this we say thank you.

We praise you. Oh, we praise you. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. We glorify your name. We magnify your name. We adore you, Father. We love you.