The strength needed to live life successfully is found in God’s unlimited power.
Life has struggles. Sooner or later, every person faces overwhelming circumstances, situations seemingly impossible to make it through. If we are honest, we all recognize our need for help. Sometimes, the stress is FAR beyond our own strength to handle it. Lowell Streiker (Encyclopedia of Humor) shares the following story that I think even a husband can understand.
The harried housewife sprang to the telephone when it rang and listened with relief to the kindly voice in her ear. “How are you, darling?” it said. “What kind of a day are you having?”
“Oh, Mother,” said the housewife, breaking into bitter tears, “I’ve had such a bad day. The baby won’t eat, the washing machine is broke down, I haven’t had a chance to go shopping, and besides, I’ve just sprained my ankle and I have to hobble around. On top of that, the house is a mess and I’m supposed to have two couples to dinner tonight.”
The mother was shocked and was full of sympathy. “Oh, darling,” she said, “sit down, relax, and close your eyes. I’ll be over in half an hour. I’ll do your shopping, clean up the house, and cook your dinner for you. I’ll feed the baby, and I’ll call a repairmen I know who’ll be at your house to fix the washing machine promptly. Now stop crying. I’ll do everything. In fact, I’ll even call George at the office and tell him he ought to come home and help out for once.”
“George?” said the housewife. “Who’s George?”
“Why, George! Your husband! . . . Is this 284-1373?”
“No, it’s 284-1376.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I guess I have the wrong number.”
There was a short pause. Then the young woman asked, “Does this mean you’re not coming over?”
Ever wished for help? We all need strength, but too often we are like the young mother vainly seeking assistance from strangers! Guess what? You aren’t likely to find the help you need from a mom’s misdialed connection, but Heavenly Father is available. The classic hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness” praises the Lord who gives “strength for today.” Psalmists repeatedly honor the Lord for the strength He provides (search “strength” in the Book of Psalms at www.biblegateway.com). Here are just three:
- The Lord gives his people strength. Psalm 28:8 NLT
- The Lord gives his people strength. The Lord blesses them with peace. Psalm 29:11 NLT
- God is awesome in his sanctuary. The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God! Psalm 68:35 NLT
Writing under Holy Spirit inspiration, the Apostle Paul commands, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power” (Ephesians 6:10 NIV). The strength we need is found in only one place – “in the Lord.” Paul isn’t encouraging a stiff-upper-lip-attitude. He isn’t calling for his readers to grit their teeth and pretend. He is pointing to the location we must go if we are to find the strength we need.
Paul wanted believers in Ephesus (and all Christ-followers!) to have a greater understanding of the awesome strength that is available to God’s people. Paul writes,“I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 1:19-20 NLT) Paul revisited the need in Ephesians 6:10, “Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.”
We need to be wrapped up in God’s strength. Kenneth Wuest (Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader) says the Paul’s choice of words in Ephesians 6:10 conveys the idea of “to clothe one’s self with strength as one puts on a garment.” Can you see the impact of that imagery? We are familiar with that activity. Don’t you put on clothes every day? I get dressed everyday. Okay, some relaxing days at home I may not be very dressed-up, but my family insists I have on clothes. Getting dress is normal, daily, activity. For the Christ-follower, receiving God’s strength should be just as normal, even more than common.
We shouldn’t be content just to receive God’s strength one time. Regularly, we need to reach out for strengthening. Wuest’s comments on Ephesians 6:10 reveal the ongoing nature of this dependance. “Here the verb is in the passive voice, ‘be continually strengthened.’ The qualifying phrase, ‘in the Lord,’ defines the strengthening as Christian strengthening, such as can take effect only in union with the Lord . . . ‘be strengthened,’ causes the saint to depend on the Lord for the supply of that strength . . . Translation. Finally, be constantly strengthened in the Lord . . .”
People cannot strengthen themselves; they must be empowered, and that not once for all but constantly, as the tense of the Greek indicates. Furthermore, he says, not ‘by the Lord,’ though that would be true enough, but again in the Lord. When life is lived in union with Him, within the orbit of His will and so of His grace, there need not be failure due to powerlessness (1 John 2:14). Apart from Him the Christian can do nothing (John 15:1-5), but there is available all the strength of His might. ( Francis Foulkes in Tyndale NT Commentary Ephesians)
I can – I SHOULD live in a place of strength. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead, lives in me. Jesus Christ won the ultimate victory when He died and rose again. I don’t fight FOR victory; I fight FROM victory! I want to live life successfully. Today, I will draw from the steady current of God’s power available to me via praying in the Holy Spirit, feeding upon His Word, connection with other believers, fasting and other spiritual disciplines, and many more avenues. I desire strength for today. How about you?
