Strength

Ephesians 6: 10-12

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.


Be strong, it is something that we do not hear as much of today. When I was growing up it was one of the things I heard from my father often. Be strong, I grew up with that attitude, the world is not going to change, and I am not going to compromise for the world. No doubt about it, that does take strength. Especially if you are looking for that strength on your own. Oh you might find it within yourself, but it is hard to maintain on your own. That is why this passage tells us to be strong in the Lord. When we put our burdens on the Lord, he can bear the weight.

Today it seems that we are more about trying to manipulate the world to where life is easier on us. We hear about it all of the time, for the adult it is no money down, no credit, no problem. It is all of the quick fix; don’t read the fine print just sign here deals. It is the attitude of tearing others down to advance ourselves is OK as long as you get ahead. WE are robbing ourselves of our strength at the least, and allowing others to steal it from us at the most!

I think it is harder of the children, all of the let’s be friends, don’t hurt his feelings, or the everyone gets an A as long as they try. My favorite is how everyone makes the team now…..we would hate for any child to think they might need to improve to make the team….heaven forbid if we rattle his self-confidence!

My point here is that we should make a point to get back to being strong, When we meet life’s challenges head on sure it can be trying, and it is hard, but that is what we have the Lord, and prayer for. When we see a barrier in our path, the answer is not to turn back and go down the easier road. The answer is to look to the Lord for guidance; he will get you over, around, or under that barrier. If we will be strong in the Lord, we will overcome any obstacle. We should be looking for the challenges in life, for that is living. By looking for the challenges, we are looking for opportunities for God to work in our lives. Having a good life does not mean that it is easy, it means that it is a good life full of love, faith, and perseverance. When everything comes easy there is no worth attached to it. This is why we always hold on to the things we have to fight for, yet today it seems that the list of things worth fighting for is growing shorter. We should encourage each other to strive for the best. We should challenge each other to make it to the next level, not by taking the easy way, but by taking the road less traveled. We should walk with the Lord, not against him; we should rely on his strength, and realize it will compensate ours when we get weak. Without him it is hard to be strong, with him, nothing is impossible. Without him, we will get weak, and start looking for the easy way. With him there is only one way, and although it might be rough at times, it will always be bearable. So I pray for all of us, that we find the strength Christ has to offer, and we rely on that strength. Like water from a well, the strength of Christ the Lord will always replenish, it will always sustain, and it will never run dry.

I am sure you have seen this before, but I will leave you with this quote:

Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers, pray for powers equal to your task. –Phillips Brooks

Peace,
Rev. T