Jesus, Our Strength and Song
“The Lord is my strength and my defense;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.”
Exodus 15:2 (NIV)
When uncertainties and disappointments strike, the church and the world become desperately in need of strength and a song. Thankfully for us, the eternal Triune God is and will always be our strength and song. Exodus 15:2 reminds us that salvation is the result of the Lord being our strength and song. Whenever personal disappointments arise, during the pulsating tension of national stress, as often as the chasms of division in our world widen, and when the threat of injustice rages, the Lord who is our strength and song, is sure to save those who trust in Him.
Three days after arriving at Baylor University’s Truett Seminary on August 8, 2024, I was hospitalized with a life-threatening infection resulting from a painful kidney stone, on August 11, 2024. Disoriented by the joyful, but anxious move from family in my home state, unaccustomed with the terrain of a new city, and feeling the distance from my familiar experiences, I lay in a hospital bed in a new city and state, sick and suffering. My first reaction was questions: Why is this happening to me at this time? Had I made a mistake in taking the path I chose? Then I soon discovered the answer! The Lord was teaching me a new song, giving me new strength, and proving once more and again that He saves to the uttermost. The Lord healed me and gave me renewed strength and a new song in the process. The Lord reaffirmed his direction in my life through the love of a faithful wife, by sending colleagues to my bedside, in providing me with loving new friends who supplied meals, and through the patience of administrators who supported my family in that hard time. A tough battle turned out to be a testimony of triumph. I am thankful that I can praise the Lord and exalt Him for His faithfulness in providing strength, a joyful song, and salvation. In her book, The Crime of Living Cautiously: Hearing God’s Call to Adventure, Luci Shaw writes, “Jesus is God’s great act of love.” Jesus is also my strength, my song, and my salvation.
Guided Reflection:
How has the Lord shown Himself to sustain you in weakness?
Are you willing to share a worship song that reminds you of God’s faithfulness to a friend or family member today?
About the Author
Tyshawn Gardner, Ph.D.
David E. Garland Endowed Chair in Preaching & Associate Professor of Preaching and Assistant Director of the Kyle Lake Center for Effective Preaching, George W. Truett Theological Seminary
Reverend Tyshawn Gardner, Ph.D., serves as associate professor of preaching and holder of the David E. Garland Endowed Chair in Preaching at George W. Truett Theological Seminary. He teaches Preaching I, Preaching During the Civil Rights Era, and courses in the Ph.D. in Preaching program. Dr. Gardner is an ordained Baptist minister and a seasoned pastor with more than twenty years of pastoral experience. His research interests include Christian preaching, Kelly Miller Smith, Sr., social crisis and prophetic preaching, and the African American preaching tradition. Dr. Gardner is a decorated veteran of the U.S. Navy and served in both Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm aboard the USS Saratoga (CV-60).
He has published two books, Sacred Anthropology: Prophetic Radicalism for Pulpit and Pew with Fortress Press (2022), and Social Crisis Preaching: Biblical Proclamation for Troubling Times with B&H Academic (2023) which was named Book of the Year by Preaching Magazine in 2024.
Prior to his appointment at Truett Seminary, Dr. Gardner served as Associate Professor and Director of the Preministerial Scholars Program at Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. Gardner received a BA in Business Administration from Stillman College in Tuscaloosa and MDiv from Beeson Divinity School at Samford University, in Birmingham, Alabama. He earned the ThM and PhD in Christian Preaching with distinction from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. Dr. Gardner enjoys an active preaching, lecture, and teaching ministry that enables him to participate in conferences, churches, universities, and seminaries across the country. He is married to Shonetay Gardner, and they have four children, Coretta (Corey), Tristan, Titus, and Tyson and four beautiful grandchildren.