Monday, May 9, 2016

The Source of Our Strength


UV 1751/10000 The Source of Our Strength
And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.
I Chronicles 28 v 20

Solomon was still young when he inherited the throne. He was charged with the responsibility of building the Lord’s temple as per some plans and patterns that were revealed. He might have been intimidated at the size of the task and responsibility before him. It is at this time that David exhorts him to be strong, courageous, to do it, to not fear or be disappointed, that the Lord God, his God would be with him, that He would not fail him, forsake him till he had finished the work for the service of the house of the Lord. The same promise applies to each of us as challenges loom before us like mountains. He will be with us till we finish ALL the work for the service of the house of the Lord. It does not mean that the Lord will leave us at a particular point, when we have completed the assigned tasks. It means that the One who was with us from beyond the womb and beyond the tomb would abide with us and we with Him.

The exhortation to be strong implies that we need not to depend on our limited human strength but to depend on the strength of the Lord or to be strong in the Lord. We need to appropriate the grace and infinite power of the Lord along with the hope of the great promises He has given us in His Word. We use His strength to utilise opportunities, overcome our weaknesses, defeat the weaknesses of others, neutralise threats from within and without. Whatever plan the Lord has given us we should execute to the full and in the finest detail. Whatever decision we have taken we should carry out. Whatever talent or gift the Lord has given us we should utilise fully. The source of our strength is not our genes, our possessions, our position, our talents, our connections. It is I AM WHO I AM- I am your strength. This is the reason scripture states that “by strength no man can prevail.” This is also the reason Paul writes, “ I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Life is an enterprise that is too complicated to live alone, on one’s own strength but it is meant to be lived in partnership with the Lord.

To be courageous implies that we should act in such a way that we do not yield to fear. The fear of failure keeps many in the pits of mediocrity, keeps them from fulfilling their God-given potential, keeps them from utilising both their gifts and their opportunities, keeps them from setting their heights too high for the glory of God. The fear of happiness keeps many depressed, in perpetually low spirits, in continual guilt and regret. This is perhaps the reason that only one in ten leaders finish well in life and their work. The uni-verse says that we should not regret or be disappointed. To act courageously means to do things with all our heart, soul, mind and bodily strength. To act courageously would make us marked men and women as the enemy of our soul and those who are in his clutches would target us for he is a stealer, robber and killer. But the Lord says, “Do not fear.” To the world, fear could mean “ forget everything and run” but for us it means “forget everything and resist”. To not succumb to fear, to doubts, to regrets, to distractions, to worries, to guilt is to resist the enemy. The uni-verse also reminds us that we are not self –servers. We are here to serve in the house of the Lord. We need to re-assure us ourselves every day and every moment when we feel our strength or courage or spirit is sagging or flagging that WE WILL FINISH ALL THE WORK IN THE SERVICE OF THE HOUSE OF THE LORD. We got to be at the feet of Jesus to draw our strength and courage, to be in the Spirit to overcome guilt, fears, regrets and every negativity of thought , emotion, word or deed. We got to cling to the Lord.

Prateep V Philip

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