Encouragement- He is Strength
Not only is our God the God of peace, He is the God of incomparable strength and power. We know He is big and strong, after all, He created the world. His power is even more than that though. The incredible creation we see in the world is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to a show of His power. He is powerful enough to change lives, heal the sick and brokenhearted; He conquered sin and through His power defeated death! Wow, that is our truly powerful, strong, mighty God. Over and over in Scripture we see His power. He parted the Red Sea, planned out the rise and falls of great kingdoms, saved sinners of every kind and made the greatest sacrifice in the history of all eternity- conquering death by giving His own life. That is one powerful God. That is all amazing, but where does that come in as practical encouragement?
“Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” - Isaiah 41:10
That’s right, the same God who is that powerful desires to strengthen you! When the storms of life are raging and you don’t think you have the energy to get up in the morning, the God who moves the same mountains He created wants to give you the strength and faith to move the mountains in your life.
We are weak, we can’t do this “life thing” on our own, but as God told Paul in 2nd Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness”. What’s the application? Stop trying to be self-sufficient, don’t try to work any of life’s troubles out on your own. Instead, rejoice in your weakness because God strengthens those who recognize that they can’t do anything apart from His power. The same power that rose Christ from the dead is the same power that God offers you freely. The verse in 2nd Corinthians mentioned above finishes with Paul saying, “Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast in my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”
When you are needing strength from the Lord, dwell on verses about His power and ask that He would fill you with His strength and not the willpower to just “get through it on your own”. Say the name of Jesus out loud, there is power in His name (Phil. 2:9-11, Jer 10:6).
As we are filled with the strength of the Lord, we can support and encourage those around us who are struggling. Rejoice in your weakness, but even more so, rejoice in Jesus’ power!
If you want to dig deeper into this subject, here are some passages to get you started:
Isaiah 40:28-31, 1 Chronicles 29:11, Psalms 28:7, Ephesians 1:19-21
“Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” - Isaiah 41:10
That’s right, the same God who is that powerful desires to strengthen you! When the storms of life are raging and you don’t think you have the energy to get up in the morning, the God who moves the same mountains He created wants to give you the strength and faith to move the mountains in your life.
We are weak, we can’t do this “life thing” on our own, but as God told Paul in 2nd Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness”. What’s the application? Stop trying to be self-sufficient, don’t try to work any of life’s troubles out on your own. Instead, rejoice in your weakness because God strengthens those who recognize that they can’t do anything apart from His power. The same power that rose Christ from the dead is the same power that God offers you freely. The verse in 2nd Corinthians mentioned above finishes with Paul saying, “Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast in my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”
When you are needing strength from the Lord, dwell on verses about His power and ask that He would fill you with His strength and not the willpower to just “get through it on your own”. Say the name of Jesus out loud, there is power in His name (Phil. 2:9-11, Jer 10:6).
As we are filled with the strength of the Lord, we can support and encourage those around us who are struggling. Rejoice in your weakness, but even more so, rejoice in Jesus’ power!
If you want to dig deeper into this subject, here are some passages to get you started:
Isaiah 40:28-31, 1 Chronicles 29:11, Psalms 28:7, Ephesians 1:19-21
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