“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.”
This verse was written by Paul in reference to the battle that we have with the forces of Satan. In verse 12 he wrote them: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” In other words as believers in Jesus Christ we are war with an implacable foe, and we need help in this war that is waged daily. Paul told them to “be strong in the Lord.” He did not advise them to just “be strong.” I’m afraid that a mistake that make too often in our daily bouts with temptation is that we try to be strong but the strength that we depend on is our own. There is something about us that makes us want to believe that we are sufficient within ourselves to fight the spiritual battles of life, but it is just not true. We want to think that we can stand against anything in our own strength. It is like a person who sees a tornado coming and says, “I think that I can stop that thing if I will just use my strength.” You know that this is impossible. It is certainly true, then, that we cannot stand up against Satan and his demons on our own strength. Paul admonished the Ephesians to “be strong in the Lord.” Being “strong in the Lord” refers to being strong in Him in daily life through faith, prayer and daily doses of the word of God. Being “strong in the Lord” is a reference to a lifestyle, not just a weapon to be used in emergencies. Since the battle that we are in with Satan is a daily battle, we need to depend on the Lord’s strength daily. It should be our practice to depend on the Lord’s strength in everything that we do. When we do this, we resolve that we will live each day for the Lord and in His strength. For example, when David engaged in battle with Goliath, he did not come to the battle without prior preparation. As young as David was at the time, he had spent time with God, and had been close to him on a daily basis. The faith that fight’s Goliath, is not faith that is roused up in the heat of battle. It is faith that is lived daily in relationship with the Almighty God. Our foe is even stronger than Goliath; therefore, we should make sure we are “strong in the Lord” on a daily basis. Too often we fight against disconcerting temptations and habits with the idea that we can overcome from the strength that is within ourselves.. It is quite possible that we can overcome some things, but the victory will be complete only when we use the strength of the Lord. How do we get that strength? To begin with, we ask for it, and we dedicate our lives to the Lord to obey Him and serve Him daily. Jesus has given us His Holy Spirit to live within us, and He has given us the armor that we need to stand against the foe. (Read verses 13-18 of Ephesians 6 to see what this armor is comprised of.) We are to be “Strong in the Lord, in the power of His might.” The Lord wants us to depend upon His might in our fight with Satan. He expects us to lean on His might in order for us to see what only He can do. The Israelites had to depend upon God’s might when they came to the Red Sea. With the sea in front of them and Pharaoh behind them, there was not a whole lot they could do in their own might, so they had to trust God to do something about it. Only God could divide the Red Sea and let them through. I think that we do not see the power of God at work in our churches sometimes because we try to do the Lord’s work on our own power. We work to see what we can do, not what God can do. We forget that we have a resource that the world does not have. We have the power and might of God. This is true in our churches and it is true in our personal lives. We encounter an implacable foe each day, and we need to just throw all caution to the wind, trust God and see what He can do. Try it! Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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