Strength

“You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:1).

Every believer needs the strength to live a victorious life. The opposite of being strong is being weak. When you are weak, you easily fall into all kinds of temptation and lust, and thus live in defeat. When trials and tribulations come, you will not succeed in overcoming them. When we live in the strength our Lord has for us, we will overcome anything that comes our way. Paul says: “I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).

To be able to resist, and remain standing after overcoming everything, we will now look at what makes the believer strong. When we study the Bible, we see that there are four things that give us strength. We shall now take a look at those four topics.

Prayer

Prayer is the first that gives us strength. Those who pray will receive (Matthew 7:8). In Psalm 105:4 it is written: “Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.”

The strength of the Lord does not come by itself. It comes when the people of God, in faith, seek his face and ask for strength. If you had the strength to master yesterdays challenges, today is different and therefore it requires new strength. As the day is so shall the strength be. God’s people must therefore constantly ask the Lord to renew their strength. The Lord wants His people to overcome, and he will therefore provide strength when we ask him for it: “The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace” (Psalm 29:11).

The Lord has no limitation for often his people can receive strength. For: “They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion” (Psalm 84:7).

When we read the Bible we see that God’s people overcame greater and stronger enemies by the power of God. This strength is available to you today.

Bible

The second thing that gives us strength is the word of God. Just like our body needs nutrition in order to function, so does our spirit need to be strengthened by the word of God: “The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul” (Psalm 19:7a).

In 1.John 2:12-14 the apostle writes to the children, the young and the parents. These are the three levels of maturity we find in the church. When it comes to the young, John says: “I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.”

What is written here is one of the characteristics of the one who is young in Christ. The young are strong, and they are so because the word of God is in them. This makes them victorious over the evil one.

Reading the Bible is important because, among other things, it makes us strong. Therefore, when you read the Bible, ask God to reveal his Word so that it becomes a living power in you.

Confession

Confession is the third thing that strengthens us. When Paul converted, we see that: “At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20). When we continue to read we see that it was his confessions that gave him new strength, “Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah” (Acts 9:22).

In Revelation 12:11 we see that confession brought victory to God’s people: “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”

With our mouth we confess to salvation. We will receive new strength when we open our mouth testifying and confessing. 

Fellowship

The fourth thing that gives us strength is fellowship with other believers. The church is the body of Christ, where every single believer is a limb on that body. A physical limb that is separated from a physical body is unable to function. The same principle is true for the body of Christ. A believer who is not connected to a church will not be able to function, and sooner or later his life will fade away.

In Psalm 133:3 we read that the in church the Lord has commanded an everlasting blessing. “It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.”

In the church every limb is enlightened and strengthen to be one who overcomes. The Bible warns us about “solo-Christians”. “Not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another- and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).

Summary

Every believer needs the strength of the Lord to be an overcomer. This power is available for all God's people when it is sought for in faith and obedience to God's word. Do not let laziness, sin or rebellion prevent you from living in the strength that the Lord has for you. Seek the Lord with all your heart, and he will let himself be found. Pray to the Lord, read His word, confess Jesus as Lord, and do not keep away from your congregation. Be a limb that has something to give to your fellow limbs, in order for them also to be strengthened.