All tagged Strength
When we are suffering calamity, or our bodies are burning with fever, do we count these things as strengths? When we lose our livelihood, or our children are suffering, do we find that such things cripple us, or are we strengthened by them, even as we call out to the Lord for relief? Many things afflict us in life, but God’s grace remains, and it grows stronger in the eye of every storm.
Are you being tested in life? If you find yourself facing hardships, and I am certain that you are in some fashion, then let me ask a quick follow up question... how is your faith doing in the face of it? You see, Faith is cultivated and fertilized by adversity.
07/11/2019
We are so likely to become discouraged when the storms of life are upon us, but in them we are strengthened by the wind and the hardship. The weak branches break off, and our roots, filled with new moisture, bring forth new growth... all this to better prepare us to withstand what lies ahead. The winds of storms are like pruning sheers, and drought sends our roots deeper in search of new moisture. Don’t let your faith be overcome by adversity it will soon be replaced by new vigor and strength.
In this day and age we talk a great deal about bullying. Being bullied by those around us can occur both physically and verbally, but verbal bullying cuts us much deeper. Jesus endured both kinds in His life, but predominately the verbal variety. So today, as we are made fun of, jeered, and cruelly denigrated, we should look to Jesus for our example of how to react to, and endure, such torture.
Are you filled with sadness and depression today? In particular, is there a void within you because of a feeling of separation from God? There is no loneliness greater than to be in a place without God’s presence, but if that is your feeling today then take heart, and call on the name of Jesus because He too walked through the valley of the shadow of death... just as you are now doing.
Jesus gave himself up for his disciples, and then on the cross He did the same for us. We often speak of the meekness and humility of Christ, but those characteristics cloaked the strength He held within. Do you look at His sacrifice as weakness, or strength? What about the Christlike behavior of those around you?
Are we proud and arrogant in our faith? Do we have an overconfidence in our own ability to follow Jesus? When we begin to approach our faith with pride rather than humility then we are dangerously on the verge of falling aside from Christ. Did Jesus take pride in the miracles performed by His hand?
When times are tough for us, or we see someone else who is struggling, how do we approach the situation; who do we turn to for help, or guidance? So often our pride gets in the way, and we cling to self-sufficiency, or we see someone without clothing, hungry, or with anywhere to sleep, and we look away hoping they will get their life in order. We do these things when in fact we should turn to Jesus for our help, and offer assistance to others as He would have us do, but this requires a couple of very basic attributes... faith, and courage. Do you have these in you?
As we struggle through life, where do we look for our strength? Do we exercise our own bodies? Do we read self-help books to give strength to our minds and characters? If so, how is this working out for you? When we depend on our own devices, or books written by other men for our strength, we are never as strong as when God’s strength courses through us.
Do you wear the armor of God when you go out into the world? Do you put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of readiness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit? When you put these on do you consider yourself fully clothed and ready to face whatever evil the day brings? Well my friend, although we count our armor as complete, there is one piece lacking that is crucial, and we seldom list it as being part and parcel of our armor.
Do you want to improve your prayer life, to pray in joy, to pray without ceasing, or to find the ear of God with your words... but try as you might you fall short of during your attempts? Do you find yourself going through the motions as you retreat to your prayer closet only to return empty and unsatisfied? Perhaps the problem isn’t in your praying at all... perhaps it is in your faith.
Are you a humble person, just playing with the notion, or do you actually make no pretense at it whatsoever? Humbling ourselves is a foundational element of the Christian faith, and yet it is also a human trait that many people see as being a weakness, and unbecoming. Friends... humility and weakness are not synonymous... being humble before God allowed Jesus to take His place on the cross, but that wasn’t weakness... it was a strength of love that few of us can understand, much less realize in our lifetimes.
Are you filled with the joy that only Jesus and God can give you? Even in those times when you suffer or mourn is there an underlying joy that others see in how you approach those things? When we have grasped the gospel of Jesus Christ, and brought God into our hearts as Lord and Master, joy bubbles up in us like a flood. This is the mark of our faith, and is easily seen by those around us. Have you received that seal of joy?
How often we view the strife and tumult of daily life as an encumbrance to our abiding in Jesus Christ, in God, but that should not be so. In the vineyard the wind blows, the leaves rustle loud, and the sound of the storm grows intense, but at the root, the vine never moves, and the nourishment continues unabated. Every storm provides rain that is drawn into us as strength from the wet ground, and what appears as a raging flood becomes the watering can of our faith.
How strong are you, and how strong is your faith? Does the strength of your physical body reflect the power of your faith? To answer this let’s consider the apostle Paul. Perhaps you are battling an illness, or a deformity that cripples you, and your prayer for this to be removed is seemingly falling on deaf ears. When our bodies suffer and become frail this can actually be our time of greatest dependence on God, and as such the height of our faith.