FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.

Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty; listen to me, God of Jacob. Look on our shield, O God; look with favor on Your anointed one.

Psalm 84:5-9

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

One of my favorite single verses in the Scriptures regarding how we can make it through life day-by-day is Philippians 4:13. The New King’s James Version translates this verse as:

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

I can’t think of any other combination of ten words that mean more to us when it comes to facing life’s challenges and persevering through them when they come.

When we believe and trust in this word of God, then we fully surrender ourselves to Jesus and His strength in any and all circumstances. We realize that we don’t possess the strength to make it on our own. Self reliance gets us nowhere and we only find ourselves worn down to exhaustion by our circumstances until we get to the place where we feel like we can’t go on anymore and we long for the strength to just make it through.

It is there that Jesus is always waiting to meet us. And just as He rescued a doubting Peter who started to walk on the water but found His anxieties get the best of him causing him to sink into the depths, so too is Jesus ready to grab us by the hand and pull us out of the depths of our trials, offering us the strength to carry on and make it through (Matthew 14:25-31).

There are many things we gain as a result of knowing we have the strength of Christ to help us persist through any and all adversity. We gain confidence and hope. And we find ourselves in a place of happiness where there should despair and anguish. We know this because of the words of the psalmist in the 84th Psalm who had this to say about those who find their strength in the Lord:

Blessed are those whose strength is in You. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.

Blessed are those whose strength is in You. The strength of Christ, available to all who put their faith and trust in Him, is one of the richest blessings we can experience in this worldly existence. It’s when we can feel His power at work in, through and around us. It’s when we, like Paul, can find we can do all things and because of this, be content in whatever our circumstances are – whether well “fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want” (Philippians 1:12). There is a happiness in knowing we have the strength of Christ Jesus to get us through.

And so as we journey on this pilgrimage called life, the psalmist says we go from “strength to strength” until we “appear before God.” In other words, we go through life circumstance after life circumstance, needing the strength of Christ to help us through until that day when He’ll use His final display of strength, power, and might to intercede for us on Judgment Day before God the Father, securing our pardon and resurrecting us along with all who placed their faith and trust in Him. O what a glorious day that is going to be.

So stay encouraged and do not let your hearts be troubled. The strength of Jesus will be with you if you place your full faith and trust in Him and Him alone. And that strength will ever help you through life’s circumstances, blessing you on earth while you await the greatest blessing ever, the chance to live eternally with God the Father and His Son Jesus, the only One through who we can be saved (John 14:6).

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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