“The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1
Gideon lived in very troubled times. Foreign armies—the Midianites, the Amalekites and other eastern countries– invaded the country and plundered the fields and killed the livestock. For this reason, Gideon and other Israelites lived in mountain caves and harvested at night. One day an angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon. “The Lord is with you mighty warrior,” he said. Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of the Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you.”
“How can I save Israel?” Gideon said. “My clan is the weakest in the nation and I am the least in my family.”
“I will be with you,” The Lord said. “Go in this your strength.” In other words, “I am your strength and that’s all the strength you need.’
And in that strength, with a very small army, Gideon defeated a huge army and brought peace to Israel.
What challenges of life are you and your family facing right now? Do you sometimes feel like you don’t have the strength to deal with them–like you can’t handle anymore?
God is not up in heaven shaking his head, He is walking with you right now. He wants to infuse His strength into you. How? God is our strength
“Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD” (Psalm 31:24)
How does God’s strength become ours? Must I spend hours in Bible reading and prayer meetings? Yes, those activities help us to focus on God, but we do not work for God’s strength. We do not plug in just when we need strength.
Jesus never said, I am your power cord; you are the iPhone. Our strength comes through a connection with God but it must be ongoing. Jesus says it’s like a branch in a vine.
Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 LAB) Notice the word remain. It’s constant, not sporadic.
A branch does not decide to be independent of the tree. It needs the life of the tree moment by moment. In a similar way, we were not created to live in our own strength, but in the strength of Christ.
We cannot be independent of Christ and expect to flourish.
If Jesus Christ lives in us, we have the resource to conquer all things because there is nothing bigger or mightier than He is. Paul says “I can do everything through him who gives me the strength I need” (Philippians 4:13 LAB). As he infuses his life, his power into you, you have what it takes to live your life as God intended.
God is our victory, our strength Psalm 60:12 Psalm 59:16
What are you facing right now? Remember in Christ you have the resources to overcome that challenge.
Lord Jesus, I need you right now. Infuse me with your strength. Thank you for taking over now and being my strength.
By Helen Lescheid
Used by Permission
Further Reading
• Truth – God’s truth remains the same from age to age,
• God, our Shield
• Salvation Explained