Have you ever felt that you did not have the strength to do what needed to be done? You just made it through a tough time of illness and you needed strength. Perhaps you were facing physical or spiritual difficulties that you had never faced, and you needed strength. Maybe you were entering into a new area of work and the challenge was great, and you needed strength. You received reports that your children were facing life threatening disease, you needed strength. Your strength was fading or inadequate and you needed God’s strength to make it through.
Moses, that great leader of Israel, was at the end of his journey. He was 120 years old and he said he could no longer go out and come in. He had traveled from Egypt to the border of the Promised Land. He had stood faithful all of those years in the wilderness. Now God told him that he would not cross over the Jordan into the Land of Promise. At the same time, God told him that His people were going to come up against many nations that were strong and difficult to defeat. When Moses heard those words, he conveyed God’s message to the people.
Deuteronomy 31:6-7 NKJV Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it.
Deuteronomy 31:23 NKJV Then He inaugurated Joshua the son of Nun, and said, “Be strong and of good courage; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land of which I swore to them, and I will be with you.”
Do you notice that Joshua keeps getting this same message? “Be strong and of good courage…”
Joshua knew how obstinate and difficult the children of Israel had been. Now he is to lead those people into a land that is inhabited by nations and people who are much stronger and well defended. There were several reasons why he could not do what he was being asked to do. He was not strong enough and his courage was faltering. The task before him was monumental. Shortly after these words in Deuteronomy, Moses the servant of the Lord died. As soon as Moses was gone, God told Joshua to get up and go into the land and possess it.
Joshua 1:3 NKJV Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.
Look at this promise.
God was telling Joshua that the whole land was before him. The potential for success was tremendous. God was giving him everything that He had promised. The land was rich and bountiful. All Joshua had to do was go in and possess the land.
Joshua 1:5 NKJV No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.
Each of us needs to hear this promise for ourselves. Do you know that God has promised to be with you and never leave or forsake you? With the assignment and promise comes the challenge. For Joshua to go in and possess what God had promised, he had to be strong, so God repeated the message again.
Joshua 1:6-7 NKJV Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.
Have you heard those words from God, “Be strong and very courageous?” I believe God has laid some promises out before us, “Be strong and very courageous.” God has a word for you when you feel weak. You need to do what God was telling Joshua to do.
Joshua 1:8-9 NKJV This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
If you want to be strong and of good courage, you need to get God’s word into your heart and mind. This is the key for strength in your life. God wants you to know that He is with you wherever you go. God keeps giving this message to His people. God wants to establish His testimony in people of faith. To accomplish the thing that is before us, we need to know that the Lord our God is with us. We are looking at the impact that God’s word and His abiding presence has on us. We are strengthened with might in the promises of God and in His presence.
Jacob was weary from his journey and laid down on the ground and took a stone and laid his head on it. You know you are worn out when you can lay on the ground and use a rock to lay your head on. When he dreamed, the angels of God ascended and descended on the place where he slept. Then God spoke to Jacob from heaven.
Genesis 28:15 NKJV Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”
Whatever you are going through, you need to know that God is with you and will keep you wherever you go. Jacob knew that if God was with him and would keep him, he would survive.
We should consider how strong and invincible we are when we are covered by God’s promise and presence.
Listen to the promise that God made to His people.
Leviticus 26:7–13 NKJV You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you. Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you. ‘For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you. You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new. I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out …I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright.
God is still able to break the heavy bands of your yoke and give you strength. Those things that have made you weak can be broken and God is able to strengthen you. You will find this strength in His presence.
Have you found this to be true? You came to God in prayer and the power of His Spirit filled your soul.
Ephesians 3:16 shows us that, “God would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man.”
This is a continual process of strength and reinforcement with His mighty power by the Holy Spirit abiding in you. You need the power of the Holy Spirit present and working in your inner being. This is the key for strength, victory, and abundant life. God will strengthen you through His Spirit.
Colossians 1:11 reinforces this message.
Colossians 1:11 NKJV strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power…
You need this strength. Whatever you are facing, God’s glorious power will strengthen you!
When the Apostle Paul had been abandoned by Demas, Crescens and Titus, he said, “no one stood with me, but all forsook me.” (2 Timothy 4:11-16). It is difficult going through the fiery test alone. It is easier to face your challenges when you have someone on your side to encourage you along.
Where did he get the strength to keep on keeping on? How could he survive when so many things were against him? Maybe you feel the same way. You were weakened by the test, trial and difficulties. The people who should have encouraged you were not present. Paul told Timothy how he made it through and how he found strength.
2 Timothy 4:17 NKJV But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me…
How can we know that the Lord is near? Can we know that the Lord is standing with us to strengthen us?
In Ephesians 3:20, that same Paul told us about a power that is working in us.
Ephesians 3:20–21 NIV84 Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Do you notice His power that is working within? When you are rooted and established in Christ’s love, you will be strengthened by His might and power through His Spirit. God has invested a heavy deposit of the Holy Spirit within you to strengthen you. He is present right now to you give you strength by His might and power.
