Spiritual Strength -Receiving the Gift of His Might (Ephesians 6:10)

Twelve 5 has a few members of our church who work in the home building and renovating industry. The other day, I was talking to one of them who was recently pouring concrete in August, with temperatures around 100 degrees, and a humidity that was horrid.  It had to be exhausting work!  His story reminded me of the days when my sons and I were doing some of the work building our house.  It was framing and truss week, and I knew that each day I would have to marshal  every ounce of strength I had to make it to quitting time, which was sun down.  Just like my brother who chose the worst day of the year to pour concrete….. at the end of the day, I was running on empty.  This is because human strength is limited; there’s a finite amount available, and once it’s used up, you’re done, finished, its crawl to the couch time.

However, there is another strength which is outside of the physical realm  available to us that is not limited because it is comes from an infinite source.  This is the spiritual strength that Paul talks about at the end of his Epistle to the Ephesians where he gives the imperative: “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might”.   

We all know of times that we have grown weary struggling with sin or trials in our lives, become fatigued, worrying about the troubles that surround us or become exhausted fighting the outright attacks from the world.  There have been plenty of times that I have felt it was terribly difficult to go on and function normally.  I would fall into bed exhausted from the battle, only to be unable to fall asleep because my mind was flooded with thoughts.  I would get up the next day feeling completely drained of energy.

As Christians, two of the mistakes we often make that leads to weariness is when we fail to comprehend the nature of the challenges we face and we attempt to confront our issues solely through our own strength.  This often leads to failure because we do not realize that we are called to battle, not to live a life of ease and comfort.  It is essential that we understand we are called to warfare, to struggle, and even suffer for His sake, as exemplified by Paul.  A crucial key to victory lies in recognizing this and developing the appropriate strategy.  We are engaged in a spiritual battle and we must approach it from that perspective.

One thing is certain: scripture doesn’t conceal this fact from us. It doesn’t give us the impression that a Christian life is easy or that we’ll never encounter any challenges in this life.  We must acknowledge and recognize that the devil is actively working against us.  He is a roaring lion, disguised as an angel of light, and the prince of power of the air.  Satan is the deceiver, the accuser, and his language is lies.  He is incredibly cunning in using his wiles against us.  However, this knowledge is only half the battle.

One question is, can we fight and win against what seems like an overwhelming power?  The short answer is yes!  The Bible is full of truths that claim that we are empowered to fight such an adversary.  The good news is that scripture always shows us how to deal with our problems, especially the spiritual battles we face.  Paul reminds us this when he states, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:38).

So, we should recognize the origin of the battle and the formidable power arrayed against us and that we cannot achieve victory solely through our own strength.  Yet, we persist in attempting to rely on our own strength. This leads to disheartening, discouraging, disappointing, and dissatisfied feelings and thoughts. Ultimately, we are driven to our knees in sheer frustration and weakness before we recognize the true power and strength necessary for victory.  The root cause of this reliance on our own strength lies in the fall, the lingering presence of sin nature within us.  The reasons for our reliance on our own strength are diverse and multifaceted.

Let’s explore a few of these reasons: pride: believing you can handle a situation by yourself and not seeking help from others because you don’t want to admit you have problems or you do not want to be seen as weak.  Weak faith: not trusting in the Lord’s strength or relying on His promises.  Spiritual apathy: having neglected spiritual disciplines in the past and believing that you can suddenly summon the spiritual strength to overcome our adversary.  Worldly influences: too much of your time is spent seeking and enjoying worldly things, materialism, which have little or no eternal value.

This isn’t an exhaustive list, but I think you get the idea.  You can’t get up in the morning, go through your usual routine, walk out the door, and come face to face with the forces arrayed against you, and think you can fight this battle without any preparation.  The truth is, we live on the battlefield, we’re the target, and we must live and prepare like the warriors we’re called to be (“put on the armor of God”).  Nowhere in scripture does it tell you to wait until you’re attacked to prepare for battle.  You become strong by practicing and preparing for battle!

We must acknowledge our own weaknesses and take action to address it.  Consider the Bible; every individual in it (except Jesus), from the patriarchs and prophets to the kings and apostles, was weak.  Not a single one could stand up to Satan on their own merits.  This is a universal truth among all Christians,  from the early fathers onward.  There’s no easy path or shortcut; the battle is fierce, and we are inherently weak.  As I’ve mentioned, we must prepare for battle.  Read the word, study it, pray it, and engage in it with your family.  Faithfully attend a healthy church, build relationships within the body of Christ, guard your ears and eyes, establish spiritual standards for what you and your family allow yourselves to see, do, and adhere to them and stop quenching the Spirit.

Okay, you say, “Brother Keith, I’m busy, tired, and don’t have the time for spiritual disciplines.”  Well, I have two questions for you: How much time do you waste in defeat, constantly fighting the same battle repeatedly, feeling depressed, fretting, and reliving the same events in your mind?  And second, with what are you actually busy?  Is it truly important?  In my discussions with many Christians, who struggle with attacks, claim they don’t have time, but it usually always boils down to priorities!  They have placed the temporal things on their priority list ahead of the things that are eternal.

Here is a suggestion: make a list of all the activities you are busy with during the week and prioritize them with time spent doing them. This will help you understand where your time goes, your priorities, and likely the reasons behind your struggles. It will reveal where your heart really is; how much you operate in the flesh and how much time you spend building spiritual strength and preparing for war.

1 Col. 3:1-4 “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”

This is a wonderful truth: our lives are “hidden with Christ in God.” We have died to self and been raised with Christ.  Our lives belong to Him, and our lives have been decreed to bring Him glory.  As a result, nothing can happen to us by chance.  Our loving father is in control of our lives.  He who spoke the world into existence wields the same power to keep us in His love.  This knowledge should give us the understanding that whatever comes our way—trials and persecutions—has a purpose in our lives.  We may not understand the purpose when we are in the midst of our trouble, but we have God’s great promises,  and that should be enough for us.  That is what builds our faith in Him.  We should know that if the outcome of our lives is secure, He will supply us with all that we need to arrive at that point.

Heb. 13:5 “….. for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

He is our helper, He will supply our needs, He will supply us the strength of His might when we are weak.  But, once again, remember that whatever you do, it is in His strength, not ours.  Paul instructs us to “be strong in the Lord,” not in ourselves.  It is His strength that sustains us and enables us to utilize the graces He provides us with to our advantage.  These graces include His truth, His faith, His righteousness, His gospel of peace, His salvation, His word, and His spirit.  This sounds familiar—it’s the armor of God!  And to use these effectively, Paul tells us that we must be “strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.”

What a wonderful phrase: “….the strength of His might”  His might is our inherent strength and power—that great reserve of strength I referred to earlier.  It is ours, from Him, to tap into.  It is effective, but we must be able to tap into its full potential.  What is that potential?  Isaiah asks the same question.

Isaiah 40:28-31   “Have you not known? Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.  He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.  Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

Whenever our strength fails and we feel exhausted, we are reminded that the Lord stretches out His hand to the faint and weary.  However, it’s important to note that we should “wait for the Lord”.  We shouldn’t rush ahead, relying on our own strength and getting frustrated.  Often, it’s in our weakness that God’s power is revealed.  Patience involves waiting on the Lord, and while we wait, we can find rest in His word, His promises.

Isaiah 41:10,13 “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you,“Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”

These verses gives us the firm foundation with which we rest in His assurance.  This is the solid foundation of our confidence, our hope, our peace.  This is what should be fixed in our heart and mind.  He is with us, He is in us so fear not!  This allows us to to stand firm amidst the gale that blows against us.  It is when we think He is absent, or doubt if He is willing to assist us that we are tossed about.  This is why Paul tells us on the section on the Armor of God to “….having done all to stand firm.”  But again, not on our own!

Eight times in these two verses, God mentions Himself and His actions for us.  Not once does He mention what we do for ourselves!  This is a promise to hold on to when we are under spiritual attack: “I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”  This tells us that we can only be strong when we wait on the Lord, but it is His righteousness that strengthens us.  And what the Armor represents is what the Lord has already done for His elect - He has given us His truth, His righteousness, His peace, faith in Him, our salvation, His word, and access to His throne with our prayers.  Believe in that, rest in that, abide in that and He tells us we will stand firm.

At the end, it is the Lord who calls us to listen to His voice. He says, “It is I who say to you. Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”  He is telling us to pay close attention to His voice and not to turn our minds away from it.  Those who do not listen attentively, who neglect God’s instructions, His promises, His assurances, His directions, His word, and fail to listen stand on a weak foundation.

How do we know that the power of His right hand is sufficient for our time of trouble?  The Lord Christ Jesus demonstrated this power fully when He went to the cross and was resurrected three days later.  To many, the cross was a demonstration of the power of evil,……but GOD!  God turned that vile act into the defeat of death and evil, setting His people free.  What a triumphant entry into heaven for our Savior!  Jesus is the master who conquered all the powers that are arrayed against us.  He is the only one who led captivity captive.  And now, through us truly knowing Him, waiting on Him, being in Him, and sacrificing our fleshly desires to Him, we can live “in the power of His might.”

2 Cor. 4:8,9 “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed…”

Knowing this, we must turn our hearts and minds to the Lord with every fiber of our being.  He is our steadfast foundation, our guiding light.  He has entrusted us with the path He has laid out before us, and by following His lead, He will not abandon us in the midst of our journey.  His promise - He will accompany us to our appointed end. “I am confident that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)