Sunday, December 4, 2016

Inner Imparted Supernatural Strength

UV 2140/10000 Inner Imparted Strength
In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.
Psalm 138 v 3

The greatest strength to face life’s most painful or troublesome or difficult moments is not intellectual, physical or emotional. It does not come with financial muscle or political power or influence. It is not an innate or inherent strength but the strength the Lord imparts to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. By this kind of strength Paul was able to endure flogging, imprisonment, shipwreck, desertion by companions, loneliness and all his travails. When we cry out to the Lord in our weakness, He has mercy on us and fills us with power from above. He strengthens our souls with supernatural comfort and strength during the times we face losses, defeat, failure, death and attacks of powerful inimical forces.

The strength the Lord imparts in us first of all emboldens us to face or confront the mountain of the difficulty. The mountain is not removed or reduced in size for us to endure or overcome it. Rather, step by step we are enabled to climb and overcome it. Every day of our lives we need this strength of the Lord to face , endure and overcome the day’s troubles and challenges. Samson was the strongest man in human history. Yet when he did not yield to the Holy Spirit and instead yielded to the weaknesses of his own flesh and will, he fell into the hands of his mortal enemies, the Philistines who gouged out his eyes, blinded him and had him chained. This example warns us of the need to constantly lean on the strength and counsel of the Lord in all we do.

The Lord strengthens us by delivering us from all our fears- the fear of evil, the fear of curses, the fear of the enemy, the fear of death, the fear of punishment, the fear of judgement, the fear of the need to pay the price of sticking to the truth and to one’s integrity, the fear of diseases, the fear of disasters, the fear of scarcity, the fear of failure, the fear of people and so on. All these fears were nailed to the cross with the death of Jesus and it gave rise to hope and faith in its place through the resurrection. The hope and faith that Almighty God, Our Everlasting Father, Wonderful Counsellor inspires in us daily and especially, with a double portion during the crisis times sustains us like the manna deposited daily in the desert of Egypt sustained the Israelites through their arduous journey through the wilderness. The Word is another channel of pouring in the power, strength and wisdom of the Lord into our lives.

Prateep V Philip

No comments:

Post a Comment