The Lord is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,
And with my song I will praise Him.
Psalm 28:7 (NKJV)
Thought for Today: If you have ever read any Greek mythology, you might recall the story of the shield of Achilles from Homer's Iliad. Achilles had lost all of his armor since he had loaned it to a companion who was killed in battle during the Trojan War. His mother, Thetis, asked the god Hephaestus to make replacement armor for her son. There is quite a description in this part of the poem of the shield that was made, with five layers and many interesting images which have a lot of symbolism. Even though Achilles was a strong, mighty warrior, he likely would have died in battle without the shield. Of course, later Greek and Roman works mention that Achilles eventually was killed by a poison arrow to the heel, the one spot of weakness in his armor.
Regardless of how strong we think we are, we still need a shield about us. What is your shield? Is it position or power? A shield of our own making surely will not last as we go through this journey of life. Have you fully trusted in the Lord to be your shield and your strength? If you have, then surely your heart can praise Him, you can sing out in joyful song, knowing that you have the strongest shield about you. If you have not, will you lay down your own shield and self-sufficiency to our Lord this day?
