The Power of His Might

 Eph 6:10
 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

We are no match for the devil. He is deceiving and cunning. He is a powerful foe that seeks to destroy our lives and our souls. He is not all-knowing, but he knows our vulnerabilities and our constitution. In the human, we don’t stand a chance. We dare not think that human resolution and determination is enough to stand against him. Such efforts are important, but fall short when standing up against the evil of this day. When the evil days come, and we are faced with a situation bigger than us, we are not alone. We serve a mighty God who knows exactly what we need. In the power of His might, we can stand and be strong. For, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Ps 46:1). We do our part and God does the rest. Our part is to trust in the Lord with all our hearts. It is to stand for what is right and good. It is to allow the Holy Spirit to take control and have His way in our lives. When we allow the Holy Spirit to abide in our hearts, Jesus said, “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49). His power will enable us to be strong in the face of evil. His power will give us the ability to be a witness to others, and let our light shine in the darkness of this day. His power will give us the determination to live a life that is holy and blameless. Let us submit ourselves to the power of His might, and be strong in the Lord.

A Strong Tower

Proverb 18:10

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.

The attacks of the enemy often happen unexpectedly. Towers were built in ancient times for many reasons, but most often they were a place to stage off attacks by invaders. It was a place of refuge, a place of safety.  A strong tower is fortified and structured to withstand a siege, to stand strong when the enemy attacks with accusations, persecution, temptation, and the trials of life. Jesus, the Name of the Lord, is our strong tower, He is our place of safety. We run to Him when it appears that the problems of life become overwhelming. The tower is a place where the child of God can find refuge when there is nowhere else to turn. A place surrounded by God’s protection and love. A strong tower is fortified to withstand the storm of life that comes crashing off the shores of a troubled sea. The Name of the Lord (Jesus) desires to wrap us in His arms, protect us from harm, carry us to safety. Run to Him. He is all we need. 

Be Strong and Courageous

 Take 2 on being Strong (30423)

Joshua 1:9
Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

In the face of difficult life’s problems, it is not easy to be strong. Being strong is made possible when we realize our weakness, and inability to do it on our own. The mere determination of our will only take us so far. Paul writes, “And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” Joshua was stepping into some big shoes. Moses, the mouthpiece of God, brought the Israelite out of Egypt by putting his trust in the Almighty to deliver. Now Joshua was being asked to take Israelites into the promised land. As we walk with God, He brings things into our lives that appear insurmountable. The stress and expectation of our jobs, the responsibilities of caring for those God has entrusted us with, The mental stress of new challenges, and the many other countless problems we face day to day. It’s ok to confess weakness and realize that we are only human and we need God to be with us and give us the help and strength to be strong when our human strength has been depleted. We all are on a journey following where God leads us. He will not leave or forsake us. He is our stronghold, and in Him we can be strong and courageous.

Through Faith

 Heb. 11:33,34
...who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,  quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 

Men and women of the Bible were just ordinary people. They were human beings that faced  the daily struggles of life. They were really no different from you and me. It was their faith in a big God that made them extraordinary. They refused to give in and quit even when faced with imprisonment and death. They were not perfect and their humanity sometimes failed them, but through faith they were able to overcome their human weakness and were made strong by the power of God. They allowed God to work through them, and God was glorified in them. We live our lives each day doing ordinary things that appear to have insignificant impact, but God honors those who dare to believe Him. Like the father of the son with the unclean spirit we pray, “I believe, help my unbelief.” In the face of what seems impossible, Jesus says, “If you can! All things are possible for one who believes.” Have faith, trust God to do the impossible. He did it then, He can do it again!

Be Strong and Good Courage

 Joshua 1:9
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee wherever you go.

Joshua was given a great responsibility. He was asked to fill some pretty big shoes. Moses, a man chosen by God to bring Israel out of Egypt just died, and mourning of his death has come to an end. But, God was not done bringing a full deliverance to Israel. Joshua, a warrior, no stranger to battle was now in charge. His marching orders were to conquer the land before him. For such a time as this, Joshua was God’s vessel, the man He would work through to accomplish His will. Like Joshua, God has a work for each one of us to fill, it may seem difficult and impossible, but He has not left us to do it alone. He encourages us to be strong, don’t be discouraged, and fear what others may do or say. If God has spoken to your heart, He has promised to be with you. Obey the voice of God, step out in faith and believe that “He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. (Eph 3;20). Be strong and of good courage, we serve a mighty God who will not leave us or forsake us.

Trails and Afflictions

1 Peter 5:10 The God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you.

Becoming a saint or a godly Christian come only through trails and afflictions. It is God’s desire that all that serve Him be made perfect in the image of His Son. Not perfect in our humanity, but made perfect in our love to Him and others. His goal is to establish us to a place that we know where we stand and our faith is   able to detect deception from Satan. We are made strong to withstand the fiery darts of the enemy. When all hell breaks loose in our lives, we settled the question long ago. No matter what happens, I believe in a God who cares and is able to take us through.

In Our Weakness

2 Corinth 12:9 “And He said unto me, “My grace is sufficient for thee, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”-

The power of God is able to work in us when we come to the place that we are depended on Him to be our strength. God has given us talents and abilities to accomplish many things, but when we come to the end of our human abilities, God is still there to take it beyond what we are able to do. We must always give our best it whatever we do, but our best is to depend on Him to provide the help we need to go beyond the human. In times of difficulties and hard places when life takes us to a dead end with no where to turn, God’s grace opens a door where there seem to be no door, His grace parts the sea when we don’t see a way out. Sometimes God just has to remove the things we have been leaning on, knock the props from under us, so we can realize that we must have Him to be our helper and strength. In our weakness, God shows us that we can be strong when we put our trust in Him.

Spiritual Weakness

Roman: 15:1“ We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.”-

A strong Christian is one that has put their trust fully in the Lord. They have learned to walk by faith and not by sight. They realized the importance of doing good works, but know that it is not their good works that saves them, but it is grace given by God through Christ that they are made right with God. The weak Christian is still struggling with the flesh and understanding how to walk with God through the Spirit. They still have habits in the human that they need to break. The infirmities, or spiritual weaknesses they have are the results of years of putting their faith in following the law and observing days. Overcoming these things don’t come over night. Those that are strong in the Lord must be aware that their are those that will not understand the liberty they exhibit and be careful not to offend a weaker Christian. The scripture given to us hear specifically is dealing with Jews who still felt that God required the keeping of the law of Moses. We don’t have that specific issue among new converts today, but the principle here is to be patient with new Christian and do whatever we can to help them grow and be strong in faith even if it means putting our ownn personal desires aside.