Where Does Your Strength Come From?

Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ: 

Without the Lord’s strength these words would not be. I am at a loss for words, sleeplessness is taking its toll, and continuous illness is dragging me down but I write to you because you need to know that it’s when you are at your weakest, the Lord’s work is the strongest. We think we are the victors, worthy of praise and honor. We believe we are keeping our heads above water, we are winning the battles, and we are overcoming the struggles. Our strength does not win battles, it loses them. Who do we think we are to give ourselves that kind of glory? In our own strength, all we create is disaster. We stumble once, attempt to patch up our skinned knees, and then conjure up a pride-welling motivational speech that we think will keep us moving. A few seconds later, we are found back on the ground. Our stumbling never ceases. Without the Lord’s strength, you will live on your scuffed knees.  The question is, "will you look up from there?" We are fighting a losing battle against our own flesh and the evils of Satan. We are turning our backs on the Lord’s perfect plan. To counter these things you must walk up to the foot of the cross and lay down your strength and self-praise. And instead, rely on the Lord’s strength for every breath and step you take. The Christian life is not possible in our own strength. 

I do not know why we constantly depend on our own strength when we know our flesh is weak and powerless. Not only are we physically weak but we are spiritually weak. We are sinful creatures that follow our desires when they speed by. Our sin spews out into our actions and taints all that we try to make right. Jesus tells us to “[k]eep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41). Christ points out this flaw, but we still carry on as if we can do it all on our own, this is the weakness of the flesh. “If we …[take] the glory [for ourselves] His strength [will] go unnoticed” (Roberts). Only when “the Lord takes our hand and makes us strong” (Roberts) do we enter into success. No matter how willing we are, we can do nothing in our own strength. Paul says, “For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it” (Romans 7:18). No matter how much we will it, we are weak in carrying out what is good, which is God’s law. Even if we attempt to follow God’s commands, because we are weak, we will fall into sin.Therefore, the idea of living on our own strength is abolished because it is not possible given our constant failure to do good and follow the Lord’s commands despite our strongest desire.

Satan and his deadly evils envelops us. Temptation is lurking around all corners, present on every billboard, seen in every magazine, and found in every place your eyes may wander. It is extremely difficult to stand strong amidst such persuasive temptation. Satan has fallen; he wants to take you down with him. And, in your own strength, he will succeed. Why would you try to stand up to him alone? Just think, you have the choice of fighting Satan by yourself or you can fight him with the help of the all-powerful God. Any tribulation is bearable, sometimes even enjoyable, when you are in the arms of your King. “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10: 12-13). The Lord will be your escape when times get tough. He will only ration out what you can handle and you can trust that God is always faithful. Therefore, we must rely on God for strength because we are not able to stand up against the devil and his wicked plans on our own.

The Lord created us in a way that makes it necessary for us to rely on Him. Our flesh is weak, sin tempts us daily, and our salvation is nothing we have done or can ever imagine doing. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). God’s gift of grace allows us to be saved! The reason salvation is a gift and is not able to be earned is so we won’t brag and boast about what we did to be saved but instead see it is from God. If it weren’t for God, we would not be saved and He wants us to realize that. He wants us to see His mercy and grace. Paul says, "For God has made all people prisoners of disobedience, so that He might show mercy to them all" ( Romans 11:32).Can’t you see He wants you to come to Him? He wants you to say Father I need you, carry me. He gave us the gift of salvation so we could reside in Him, why do we stray from Him? 

            The Lord loves us more than we can ever imagine and He only wants what is best for us, so why don’t we just surrender? In our own strength we will fail, we must trust in Jesus! I pray that you give up your life to Him, tell Him you can’t live without Him, and remember that in His strength all things are possible. Surrender your strength and dive into God’s plan relying on Him to fight “all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16). Life is hard enough as it is! Just, let go and let God. Rely on Him to be your strength.

                                                                                                            God bless, 

                                                                                                                        Amber

2 Corinthians 12:9 

         "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

Works Cited

Roberts, Sarah. Essay on Suffering. California: Sarah’s Services Inc., 2007.

All content copyright © 2009 Amber Johnson. All rights reserved.
You MUST GET WRITTEN PERMISSION to reprint or republish any of this material.

Fuzzy Feelings into Sacrifice

“Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”- 1 John 3:18

It is not what we say but what we do that makes a difference. If you promise but never follow through, if you love but never sacrifice, if you say you will be there but never show up....there is no love. Love is what you do for others not the fuzzy feeling of butterflies and stomach turnings. Love is doing the hard thing, the thing you might not want to do or really don't want to do because it would be a blessing to that person. Act on your love and do something to bless those around you. Love is sacrifice. Love is hard. Love is what Christ did for us. The hard thing, the thing no one would want to do. He died on a cross for all of us, taking on Himself all our sin and shame, so we didn't have to suffer, die, and be defeated by our sin but could live victoriously in Him with the gift of eternal life in Him. Love....Jesus went above the standard above and beyond....He died so we could live, He sacrificed His perfect sinless heavenly divine self, He took all the pain, shame, sin, and defeat from everyone one and put it on His own shoulders, He loved us enough to act out His love on His way to the cross, on the cross, in the tomb, and ascending into heaven at the right hand of the Father. Can you even begin to imagine what it would have been like if Jesus only loved us with His words and never acted on it? Turn those fuzzy feelings and words into some real action and sacrifice. Model after the perfect role model of all time Jesus Christ.



Read this encouraging image and try to grasp as much of you can of the grand and eternal love of the Almighty Savior and Lord Christ Jesus.


God Bless and have a beautifully blessed weekend!!!


All content copyright © 2009 Amber Johnson. All rights reserved. You MUST GET WRITTEN PERMISSION to reprint or republish any of this material.

Perserverance

Have you ever felt exhausted by life's difficulties, obstacles and tests? Have you felt like today you have run many of those races and are just too tired to continue?  Do rising up, victory, and perseverance seem so distant, unreachable, and to be just mere words? If you are feeling this way, you are feeling human weakness. The beauty of this weakness is that there is strength, their is power, their is peace, and there is victory in Christ. He can give you the extra step, He can give you the peace of mind, He can give you the joys of a life in Him and so much more. When you think you can't do it anymore look up and rely on the God who is the definition of victory. Let the Lord Almighty support you, strengthen you, and give you the extra ability you need to succeed or to just keep on moving with a purpose. Remember in everything there is the beauty and blessing of the life that the Lord has given you and the God moments He has placed in your path. Open your eyes and heart to see them. Stop and smell the roses, look at the clouds in the sky, and take in His heavenly surroundings.


2 Corinthians 12:9-10
But [the Lord] said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.




All content copyright © 2009 Amber Johnson. All rights reserved. You MUST GET WRITTEN PERMISSION to reprint or republish any of this material.