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November 29, 2007
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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================
My Strength Is in the Lord, by Russ Lawson
When you speak of strength you really have to be specific. We often
speak of physical strength and spiritual strength using the same words.
How do you define strength? Someone has defined strength in this way:
"Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces
with your bare hands and then eat just one piece."
That is a humorous definition because so few people have that kind of
strength. However, what most people really want is the strength to live
and deal with the problems "daily living" brings to us. Of course, we
all know that the only way to receive this strength is to give up our
lives for God. It comes when we finally understand that we are only
living a temporary life here that DOES NOT LAST. Our strength comes
from the Lord when we stop trying to fight our battles on our own, and
then allow God to lift us up and protect us.
When is the last time you really turned your life over to God? When is
the last time you cried out to him and said, "I can't do it on my own,
I need your strength!"? King David knew the secret of finding strength
in the Lord. He wrote, "The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my
deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield
and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold" (Psalm 18:2).
The great servant of God, Isaiah wrote, "Trust ye in the LORD for ever:
for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength" (Isaiah 26:4 KJV). A
modern translation puts it this way: "Trust in the LORD forever, for
the LORD, is the Rock eternal" (NLT).
When we can do that, we are like the house that withstood the storm
Jesus talked about in his famous parable (Matthew 7:24-27). We are
grounded and built upon God as the "firm foundation" of our lives.
Do you want more strength?
David put it this way: "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart
trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give
thanks to him in song" (Psalm 28:7 NIV). When is the last time you
burst into song because of the Lord's blessings in your life or in
realization that the Lord of the universe cares for you? You can do it
anywhere at any time, I started singing praise songs this morning on my
drive to work. Why? It just felt like it, I wanted to praise God!
I know that concept may be a little foreign to you right now -- you may
not feel much like singing. You may have the weight of many problems on
your heart. However, as the wisdom of the old folk proverb says, "Life
isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance
in the rain." You may not feel much like dancing either, but how about
trying to sing a hymn of praise or worship to God? No one has to hear
you except the One who counts the most, our Heavenly Father.
You may look at all these great people of faith we've quoted and want
to say, "I wish I could be more like them -- I want to have their faith
and their strength!" But believe me, the lives of others are not at all
what they appear on the outside. Each of God's great servants had to
struggle with some issue, problem, or challenge that we wouldn't wish
on someone else. The secret of these servants, however, is that they do
a good job of either hiding their problems or turning them over to God.
Do you want more strength? It comes only when you exercise. This is
especially true when we are talking about spiritual strength. So isn't
it time you start to exercise that faith more by trusting to God and
letting His strength lift you up! Praise, song, and thanks help us do
that! Let's let our strength be found in the Lord!
---------
(c) 2007 Russ Lawson <rlawson@wclo.net>, Messages from the Heart
<http://www.mfth.net/aboutus.html>. All rights reserved.
RELATED LINKS:
* Strength and Help in Our Time of Need
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200501/20050126_timeofneed.html
* True Strength
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200306/20030612_strength.html
* The Blessing of the Powerless
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200604/20060430_powerless.html
* Messages from the Heart
http://www.mfth.net/aboutus.html
This article can be found on the web at:
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200711/20071129_strengthinthelord.html
=========================== FEATURED PRODUCT =========================
WILD AT HEART, by John Eldredge
Helping men rediscover their masculine heart, this is a guide to
understanding Christian manhood and Christian men.
http://shopping.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/link?153
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