It can be helpful to look at the way a word or concept is used throughout the whole Bible. Here is a survey of the concept of “strength.”
“Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). The context is that the Jews had repented of some sins, by they were still stuck feeling bad about them. It was time to rejoice that they were forgiven and loved by God. Joy in God’s love and acceptance is a place of strength, where the accusations of the enemy cannot touch us.
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1). There are many times in life when we will need to be strengthened, and God is always there to help us when we need him. We are never left just on our own.
“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:29-31). When we are weary and at the end of ourselves, God is not tired. Eagles do not always flap their wings; they soar high in the sky, carried along by the air currents. God says, “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you” (Isaiah 46:4).
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being” (Ephesians 3:16). God is rich, and there are a lot of resources available to us as his children. Prayer is one way to access those resources for ourselves and others and to be inwardly strengthened.
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13 NKJV). This verse goes with John 15:5, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” But that is not a negative thing; this is a partnership, and we get to do everything together with Jesus. We each have different callings, but whatever he calls us to do, he gives us the strength and power to do as well.
“I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets ... whose weakness was turned to strength” (Hebrew 11:32-34). God reduced Gideon’s army from 32000 down to 300 so that it would be obvious that the victory was God’s (Judges 7). God’s strategy may look foolish, like sending the worship leaders out in front of an army (2 Chronicles 20:21), but “the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength” (1 Corinthians 1:21).
“But he 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” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). God tends to display his power through our weakness. We are “jars of clay,” something that looks ordinary and unimpressive, but the Spirit of God rests on and shines through us with his power and glory – especially in our weakness: “We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).
“Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” (Ephesians 6:10). We find strength in God during spiritual battles. “The Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:3). Jesus overcame the enemy on our behalf, so we fight from a position of sharing in his victory. But an ongoing battle can get exhausting sometimes, so we need to regularly come and be strengthened and refreshed by God and focus on his love and grace again. “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast” (1 Peter 5:10).
For reflection
1. Jesus praises the church in Philadelphia with the words: “I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word” (Revelation 3:8). It’s OK to feel our own weakness sometimes; we do not always have to feel strong. Read Matthew 12:20. How does Jesus treat people who are feeling their weakness?
2. Paul encourages Timothy to “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus“ (2 Timothy 2:1). What is the connection between grace and strength?
3. Are there areas of weakness and lack of power and ability in your life, where God might intend show his power through you? What could that look like?
Send questions or comments to:
[email protected]
Bible studies --
Writing --
Home