STRENGTH
“That he would grant you, according to the
riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner
man…”
Ephesians
3:16
Strength for the day is the cry of many. Sometimes it all seems like too much. Pressure comes from our families, our jobs,
our finances, expectation and disappointments, often we feel completely
helpless.
There is a classic daily devotional called, Streams
in the Desert, which addresses this subject of strength. Commenting on this verse in Ephesians the
writer states, “The Lord imparts unto us that primary strength of character
which makes everything in life work with intensity and decision.” This strength is not limited to the physical,
but also the strength of the affection, judgment and ideals.
The writer develops this idea into four
thoughts. The Lord will give us strength
to:
1. Go on – to persevere
no matter the path.
2. Go up – to climb the
mountain before us.
3. Go down – into the
depths knowing God is still there.
4. Sit still – to wait on
God’s hand and work without struggling.
This sort of strength is not man-made, but
God-given according to the depths of the riches of His glory. It is the Spirit of God working in and
through us to enable us to endure and have victory. Encouragement comes from the thought that God
knows we need His strength within us and He has already made provision!
I especially like the fact that this isn’t
strength I have to muster up, but strength given me by His Spirit. It is mighty strength that comes from deep
inside and is not limited.
Do you need mighty, unlimited strength
today? God will give you nothing less!
STRENGTH
“…for the joy of the Lord is your strength…”
Nehemiah 8:10
The word “strength” here means stronghold,
refuge, fortress, and place of protection. The story around the verse is where
Ezra has read the book of the law to the people and they are grieved as they
see their sin, but are told not to grieve, but rather to rejoice.
Their spiritual renewal to taking place and it
began with the challenge of the Word and continued as it effects their
emotions. If they had merely remained
remorseful, there would not be a sense of security, but when they rejoiced in
the fact of God’s ability to forgive, the whole scene was changed and there was
very great gladness.
It works the same for us. If we live morbidly looking at our failures
and weaknesses, we will not have the strength we need for life. Negative thoughts sap our energy and resources. Positive thoughts bring life, hope and
energy. God knows that we are
emotionally motivated. He knows that we
are but dust, yet he desires us to have strength. This strength comes from praise. It comes from looking for His appearing. It comes from serving the Lord with
gladness. It is a holy attitude that
creates and generates spiritual strength.
What about you? Is your strength running low? Would a dose of thankfulness and gladness
strengthen you? It is your choice!
STRENGTH
“As thy days, so shall thy strength be…” Deuteronomy 33:25
What a promise! If we paraphrase, Asher’s blessing reads, “
The strength of thy old age shall be like that of thy youth; thou shalt not
feel a decay, nor be the worse for the wearing, but shalt renew thy youth; as
if not that shoes only, by thy bones, were iron and brass”. (Matthew Henry)
For as long as he lived, he would not see his
strength diminished. Whatever work was
appointed to him, he would have the strength to do it. Whatever burden he bore, he would have the
strength to bear it. Reminds me of the
promise of II Corinthians 10:13, “There
hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful,
who will not suffer you to be tempted above that we are able; but will with the
temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
God knows the length of our life. He knows every work and every burden we will
face. He promises not to give us more
than we can handle, and also a way to bear it.
One sure way to have the strength necessary for life is to know how to
carry the burden. Matthew 11:28 is the key,
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest…” This is truly a “way to
escape”. When we realise that Christ is
there to carry every burden with us, we will know the strength necessary does
not come from our own power, but from leaning upon His.
No matter how young or how old we are, in
every circumstance, and in every day of our lives, we can have the strength
needed if we will learn to lean upon our Saviour.
Is life heavy?
Are you carrying more than your fair share? Maybe you need to stop and evaluate what you
are doing. Do you need to take an escape
route? Why not come to Christ, allow him to put in his hand and give you some
rest?
STRENGTH
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their
strength….Isa 40:31
Here the word has the idea of physical
strength and the vigour of good health.
It is good to note the remainder of the verse speaks of mounting up with
wings as eagles, of running without becoming weary and of walking without fainting. Flying, running and walking are all physical
activities. The strength for the
activity comes from waiting – a rather non-physical action.
Waiting is not a pleasant activity for most of
us. We don’t like to wait in line for
groceries, for gas, or for tickets. We get agitated and irritable. We feel exhausted because we have had to
wait.
We don’t like to wait on God either. We want
the blessing now, the answer now. We get
agitated and irritable when we don’t see God moving as we desire. But the verse says that waiting will produce
strength. Maybe we are waiting the wrong
way? You think?
The older I get, the more wisdom I find in
waiting. When I rush and get agitated, I
don’t have the right kind of energy when it comes to whatever I have been
waiting for. But, when I relax and trust God to move, in His time, all things
into place, I find more is accomplished and with less self effort. Things go much smoother and I see the hand of
God working instead of my own drooping hands and knees! I can go for the long haul without getting so
weary, agitated, or frustrated. I don’t
feel so much like quitting because my strength is solid and I enjoy everything
so much more.
I also am learning that renewed strength comes
from resting, not caffeine! Stopping is
good. Time with the Lord is
beneficial. God blesses me with extra
measures of strength and time when I put Him first. Tiegreen wrote, “…eternal fruit can only come
from an eternal source.” If I am not
plugged into the source…nothing of eternal value can happen. Best to spend my time recharging before I
charge into life!
Are you living an agitated and frustrated
life? Have you learned any of the
secrets of silence and waiting? Need
more strength? Why not stop struggling
and try trusting? Do you need to
recharge?
STRENGTH
“Thy God hath commanded thy strength:
strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us. Psalm 68:28
This verse uses the word “strength”
twice. The first usage indicates that
God gives us strength. It comes from Him,
his power and grace. He has commanded,
or instructed it to be given, strength for us.
This strength is power, might and will.
The second usage is an action of God.
He strengthens. This form means
that God overpowers, hardens, or puts a bold face upon.
He is doing a work in our lives. He promises to do a work in Philippians 1:6
“He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus
Christ.” He will strengthen His work in
our lives. He will have power over our
lives and create the endurance or hardness that we need to make it
through. He will cause us to have
boldness and confidence, not in ourselves, but in He who is doing the work.
Weakness is not what God has commanded for us.
We are to endure hardness as good soldier.
We are to be brave and confident in Him and in His Word. He will appoint or command us strength as
necessary and then He will do the work through us. This strength will take the form of personal
will to obey and to serve. And He will
continue to strengthen us day by day as we yield to His working in our lives.
If we are feeling weak, it may be that we are
not yielding to His working. We may be
allowing different sorts of hardness to have control – hardness of heart or
self will. We may need to stop and
remember where our strength comes from in the first place and get ourselves
back into line with the One who is working on our behalf.
Have you gotten too big for your britches with
God? Are you feeling weak due to
subordinate attitudes? Are you getting
stronger in God, or stronger in self?
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