Strength for the Way, Stability for the Path
“It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places.” - Psalm 18:32–33 (KJV)
These verses rise from David’s song of deliverance, spoken not from ease but from experience. They testify to a God who does not merely rescue His servant from danger, but who reshapes the servant for the journey ahead. David does not claim strength as his own achievement; he confesses its true source. “It is God,” he declares, who girds, equips, and sustains.
To be “girded with strength” is to be clothed by God for obedience. This strength is not bravado or self-confidence, but divine enablement: power given to endure, to persevere, and to remain faithful under pressure. God does not always remove the battle, but He never sends His people into it unprepared. The strength He provides is sufficient for the calling He assigns.
When David says God “maketh my way perfect,” he does not mean a life without difficulty. Rather, his path is made firm, purposeful, and rightly ordered. God straightens what is crooked, redeems what is broken, and directs each step according to His wise design. Perfection here speaks of completion and integrity, a life guided by God’s hand, even through hardship.
The image of “hinds’ feet” deepens the promise. A deer moves with confidence across steep, dangerous terrain, sure-footed where others would stumble. Likewise, God grants His people spiritual stability in precarious places. He does not always lower the mountains, but He trains our feet to stand upon them. The “high places” are not merely places of triumph, but places where dependence on God is essential.
These verses remind us that growth often happens on elevated ground, where fear could overwhelm us if God were not our strength. Yet it is there that He establishes us, proving Himself faithful.
Prayer:
Lord, You are my strength and my guide. Where the path feels uncertain or steep, gird me with Your power. Train my feet to trust You, and set me firm in the place You have called me to walk. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
