Strength at Every Turn
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man. Ephesians 3:14-16
The people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. Daniel 11:32b NKJV
The Bible says that when we spend time with God and get to know His voice and His heart, we will reap two amazing benefits: Strength will come to us and we will be empowered to do exploits.
The Fruit of Not Quitting
In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:12b-13)
CONTENTMENT. The Apostle Paul chose to rejoice instead of taking a viewpoint of want. If Paul learned the secret of being content while he was in prison, then so can we in our daily lives. We have to cast down imaginations, take every thought captive, and overwhelm doubt with the language of God’s faithfulness (2 Corinthians 10:5).
The Anatomy of Victory
Then they came to Jericho and as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.” Mark 10:46-49
Get Desperate and Determined. Blind Bartimaeus was desperate and in need, and he called out to Jesus. So often, when we get under pressure, the temptation is to shift into neutral and zone out in front of the TV. Instead of letting lethargy set in, we need to get desperate and cry out to God for help. “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles” (Psalm 34:6).
Fulfilling the Mission
And He [Jesus] opened the book and found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Luke 4:17b- 19, 21
All of heaven rejoiced at this merger of the Scriptures with Jesus, the Word made flesh. Jesus looked to the Scriptures to state His cause and purpose, and then He fulfilled it.
Alert Expectancy
We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit! Romans 5:3b-5 The Message*
God wants all of us to be ready for what is up ahead in terms of our call and fruitfulness. The presence of lethargy signals the absence of faith, and that’s why many people in a crisis situation become numb with fear. A percentage of people, though, respond to adversity with clarity and boldness.
Overcoming Incapacitation
And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:3-5
We’ve all heard of posttraumatic stress, but a recent study by psychologist Dr. Lawrence Calhoun states that more people react to trauma with posttraumatic growth. He believes that people can get stronger from their battles with life’s toughest stuff.
JUMP!
Noah and the Kids Who Obey
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1
The story of Noah is a story of perseverance and faith despite the lack of outward reinforcement.
Be Bold!
The wicked flee when no one is pursuing, but the righteous are bold as a lion. Proverbs 28:1
“BOLD”–adjective: Fearless and daring; courageous.
Boldness is not an appeal to our own personality and doesn’t emanate from our humanity. The apostle Paul told Timothy to be strong in the grace that is Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 2:1). Joshua Chapter 1 says four times, “Only be strong and very courageous.” Boldness is not a suggestion: it’s a commandment!
God’s Promises for Your Life
And Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours . . . seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness . . . for by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises . . . 2 Peter 1:1, 3-4
The Bible is filled with amazing examples of people who obtained God’s promises. By following their examples and learning from their victories and mistakes we can see clear steps of how to claim all that God has for us!
Faith
And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it shall be granted him.” Mark 11:22-23
Have faith in a faithful God. To understand faith, look no farther than the One who is ever urging us onward, the One who is ever present and all about seeking and saving. We need to trust God, who is our teacher, and study the Word, which is more than a history book—it’s God’s heart revealed.
This Present Result
God is faithful. Whatever you are going through, Jesus is right there wanting to sustain you and give you direction and breakthrough. He’s in the details. He gave His life to restore your access to God. You can trust Him!
It Is Well With My Soul
“And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” Genesis 50:20
This statement at the end of Joseph’s life reinforces the providential care of God through the ages. From beginning to end in the Bible, what Satan meant for harm, God turned around for good! (Romans 8:28). And His faithfulness doesn’t stop with the saints found on the stained glass windows.
The Hungry Heart
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” John 6:35
There is an ache in every heart in every nation that only Jesus can satisfy. We can become numb and stuck in a routine and lose sight of the importance of the basic bread of life. But Jesus knows how to address the depleted soul.
The River of God
When the man went out toward the east with a line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he led me through the water, water reaching the ankles. Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water, water reaching the knees. Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water, water reaching the loins. Again he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not ford, for the water had risen, enough water to swim in, a river that could not be forded. Ezekiel 47:3-5
There’s rich symbolism in those words that God inspired Ezekiel to write. The river is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, and God has called every one of us believers to flow in it.
What Are You Expecting?
Abide in Me, and I in you . . . I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. John 15:4-5
God has made us His garden, and the Gardener wants us to realize that our branches are designed to bear a lot of fruit: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).
What About the Good Report?
You know the word which the Lord spoke to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh-barnea. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought word back to him as it was in my heart. Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt with fear; but I followed the Lord my God fully. Joshua 14:6b-8
When the twelve Israelites came back from spying out the Promised Land, only Joshua and Caleb chose the good report. All those guys saw the same land and the same people, but they had different conclusions which produced different results.
The Results
Jesus Came. Jesus Died. Jesus Rose.
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.
Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT
A New Life
But I pray that your partnership in the faith may become effective as you fully acknowledge every blessing that is ours in the Messiah. Philemon 1:6 ISV
As we acknowledge the good things Jesus has done in our lives, our walk with God will increase in effectiveness and fruitfulness.
The Secret Place
But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:6
Time with God in the secret place is the key to effectiveness. Madake is a common type of bamboo in Japan, and during its growth season, will grow up to almost four feet in one day! It can take years, though, for the visible shoots to push through the ground because the plant first prepares for fast growth by developing a strong root system out of sight. Likewise, our public life is rooted in the preparation that happens during secret-place moments.
The Law of Life
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. Romans 8:1-2
When Jesus was nailed to the Cross, He paid the price for humanity, and you were freed from sin! The old law of sin and death has been displaced by the higher and better law of life.
Let the Word Change You
Therefore lay apart all filthiness and the superfluity of wickedness, and receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls. James 1:21
21st Century KJV*
The Word has the ability to change you: save your soul, change your personality, heal, restore, deliver, and maximize fruit-bearing. To get results though, the Word must be engrafted into your life.
Face the Obstacles
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. Romans 8:2
There is a law of sin and death, but there is a higher and overriding law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. The superseding law of what God will do in our lives is as real as the “law of lift” that Orville and Wilbur Wright discovered when they first flew an airplane. And this life in Christ Jesus will enable us to face and override anything the devil throws our way.
Walking in Love
Adapted from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.
I am patient.
I am kind.
I am not jealous.
I don’t brag.
A Ready Heart
Sow with a view to righteousness, reap in accordance with kindness; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord until He comes to rain righteousness on you. Hosea 10:12
In 2010, God is calling us to remove obstacles. He wants to rain down righteousness, but in order to receive it we must break up any hard ground in our hearts. The ground becomes hard when it’s trampled. In the same way, life can make our hearts harden so that fresh rain runs off instead of entering the soil of the heart. A tender heart is absorbent.
The Faith Perspective
The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior . . . Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you? Judges 6:12, 14
God’s perspective is different from our perspective. When God sent an angel to call Gideon to save Israel from oppression, Gideon saw only his own weakness. Like Gideon, we often see ourselves through our limited viewpoint. Instead, we should look into the mirror of the Word to see ourselves as God sees us.
