“But those who wait on 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.” (Isaiah 40:31 NKJV).
The Bible says a lot about what spiritual strength is, why it is necessary, its source, how to renew and retain it. We are three months into the new year, and we still have nine months ahead of us, we need divine strength to go through the remaining months of the year.
The stressors of life are a constant drain on our inner spiritual strength. Every Christian would admit that though the outward man perishes, the inner man is under stress and needs daily renewal. This is why Paul prayed for the Christians at Ephesus thus, “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man” (Ephesians 3:16 NKJV).
The inner man needs the strength of the Lord to survive. It is the inner strength of the Lord that makes us strong and fortifies us to resist the external pressures of the world.
The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, But who can bear a broken spirit? (Proverbs 18:14 NKJV).
It has been said that “physical strength is measured by what one can carry; while spiritual strength is measured by what one can bear.” The Bible says, “If you faint in the day of adversity, Your strength is small” (Proverbs 24:10 NKJV). Adversities will surely come, only the strength of the Lord will keep one. The strength of the Lord that sustains us during adversity is the Holy Spirit’s power, his faith, courage, patience, endurance, perseverance, his peace, etc.
Paul knew very well what it means to run out of spiritual strength. He despaired for life, so he wrote a lot about spiritual strength because he was constantly in need of it. His words teach us what spiritual strength means, and how to renew it.
In 2 Cor.1:8-11, he said, “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.” Think about this phrase, “we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.” But then he went on to say what he did when he found himself under that situation, “Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many.” (2 Corinthians 1:8-11 – NKJV)
Again in 2 Corinthians 4:8-10, he said, “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. (2 Corinthians 4:8-10 – NKJV)
As Paul did, if we desire to survive these hard times, we must build up spiritual strength by trusting God and praying.
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