“…The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1
Dear Ones:
We are so very apt to disassociate ourselves from the strength and power of God because we do not live by the truth of our union with Christ. When one first sees his or her need of Christ, there is the cry of the heart for the Lord to come and save, imparting His strength to the new believer to rise up and follow Him. But at that moment where we “receive” the power to become sons of God, we are placed INTO power and strength, for we are placed INTO Christ. We often speak of the “exchanged life,” our weakness, sinfulness, and failures, exchanged for His strength, righteousness, and victory. With regard to power and strength to live this life, we are called, not only to ask specifically for the measure of what we need, but to BELIEVE that Christ IS our strength and power, His power has become our own by faith. Our tendency is always to ask Him for resources, when in reality, we are in living union with Him who IS the resource.
David was a remarkable man. There came a day in his life when, as a young man, he was anointed by Samuel to become the king of Israel. It was at the moment of his anointing that “…the Spirit of the Lord came upon David.” (1 Samuel 16:13) From that day forward, David was equipped with the power and strength of God. This he believed and received received from God to BECOME the king that he had been designated to be. Paul, in addressing Timothy, would write him of the same reality: “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of POWER, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Tim. 1:7) The same Spirit of God that came upon David, dwelt in the heart of Timothy. David and Timothy both needed the power and strength of God if they were to BECOME what God called them to be, and to accomplish His will and purposes. This issue was not an option, but a fundamental, essential need that had to be met.
How then does the truth of Christ’s power and strength become our own? As Christ is the Alpha, the Beginning, we always begin with Him, and His word…the truth of our relationship with Him. What is it? It is oneness…the branch in the Vine…same Life…thus the same power. Like love, joy, and peace, power and strength are evidences of the presence of the Spirit. But, HOW do we live such a life? The story is told of John Wesley, who had a very difficult time getting his mind around the matter of “justification by faith.” A wise brother told him, “Preach it until it becomes real.” What was the wisdom in this? Starting with the truth, Wesley made it the subject of his meditation and proclamation. It was in doing so that the reality of the truth began to dawn upon his heart and soul. We need to have a vision of Christ as our power and strength, not only equal to every challenge of life, but abundantly surpassing the need.
Dear Father, Thou has said: “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles..” (Is. 40:31) Give us to look unto Jesus who IS our strength, that in appropriating Him by faith, we will overcome all difficulty and adversity. Give us to LIVE by Thy power, refusing all fear, embracing the challenge of every day…believing in Thy faithfulness for every circumstance. “Raise Thou me heavenward, O Pow’r of my pow’r.” In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad