Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Woodrow Kroll
That He is Glorified
When we fall–and most assuredly we all do–God is there to uphold us or basically pick us back up with His mighty right hand (Prov. 24:16). He will not only pick us back up, He will keep holding us up (Prov. 37:24) and will deliver us out of every trouble (Psalm 34:19). Who is glorified in that? Naturally, God is because He will not share His glory with anyone (Isaiah 42:8), so when we need His power, we must cry out to Him. He will hear us and enable us to get back up off the floor.
When We Are Weak
Paul knew what it was like to suffer, being stoned, whipped, beaten, imprisoned, frozen, and hungry (2 Cor. 11:25). But when Paul was weak, it was when He was really strong … because of God (2 Cor. 12:10). Ironically, Paul says that when “we are weak in him…by God’s power we will live with him in our dealing with you” (2 Cor. 13:4) because in every occasion “the Lord rescued me from all of them” (2 Tim. 3:11c), and Paul could endure with that knowledge.
When We Are Witnesses
The real power is in the Gospel, never in us. Paul wrote that “the gospel…is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16), and Jesus promised this power just before His ascension, telling the disciples that “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). If you feel like you can’t witness for Christ, understand where the power comes from–God and His Spirit–and the Gospel is the very power of God.
Being Strong in His Strength
Can you imagine what it must be like to live in this world outside of the knowledge of God? Maybe you can remember what that was like in the days before you were saved. I can’t imagine it now. The only strength we have is really not our own, but we can only “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (Eph. 6:10). He is the Mighty One Who saves us (Zeph. 3:17), and even our faith is a gift and nothing we could ever have by human effort (Eph. 2:8-9).
Mission Impossible
To go it alone on an uphill slope is a heavy load in this life. We need God’s help because with us it’s impossible, but nothing’s impossible with God (Matt. 19:26). The opposite of that is true: Of ourselves, nothing is possible (John 15:5). Since He created all the heavens and the earth, what is a little uphill slope to Him (Jer. 10:12)?
Conclusion
God is so powerful, but when we are depending upon our own strength, we are losing the greatest source of power in the universe: the One Who created the universe. If today you’re facing an uphill slope, why not set your sails to catch God’s power because you and I are surely going to need it.
