Good morning, friends.
Our verse for today comes from Acts 3:7, “And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.”
The merit of one’s strength lies in the words that follow that strength. To be as strong as an ox certainly makes it plain as to the individual’s physical capacities. To have a strong stomach might allow someone to work amid the gruesome scenes of the hospital emergency room, or to simply tolerate dreadful cooking or the unusual cuisine of a foreign land. A strong chin can take a man places, but coming on too strong is annoying and to be avoided. Your strong suit is considered to be in your comfort zone of ability, but if you strong-arm someone, you’ve probably crossed the line and things might get unpleasant. Having a strong voice can produce angelic tones, but having a strong smell could go either way. A strong back can get a lot of things done, and so can a strong willpower. But what about this willpower? We Christians don’t talk much about willpower because it sounds too much like doing things on our own and apart from the power of the Holy Spirit. It seems to imply denying ourselves things or compelling our self to do something that might be difficult but has a physical or material benefit. Not wanting to sound like a humanist or an eastern mystic, we tout God’s strength working through us to accomplish what gets done, generally focusing on the spiritual and unseen. Alright, so then, how strongly is God working through you these days?
I have known stretches of marked weakness in spite of knowing the answers and ways to strength and victory. And in those times, I am left to wonder where is the strength? Where is the power? I have areas where I need to be taken by His hand and receive strength, but why does it not come? It’s a frustrating place to be, living as a weakling after so many years of strength and endurance training. If you’ve lived it, you know what I mean. There, you are told that God’s forgiveness has limits, and you may have exceeded them. There, familiar feelings treat you as a dear friend in the hopes that you’ll stick around a while. But His strength is available, regardless. I hope we will pray for each other that we will experience victory in it.
As we seek Him today, make yourself a little stronger by spending some time with the One who is stronger than death itself.
Have an exuberant Thursday.
#4 Rich Holt
Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.
