June 21, 2024
No one likes to admit their weakness, but doing so is the first step to power. It’s the height of pride to never acknowledge your inability, but it's the pathway to real strength to do so.
Do you need strength?
I find myself there often. Admitting our weakness is not a sign of failure. In fact, it’s the necessary step to receiving God’s empowerment.
The Apostle Paul (one of the mightiest men in history who served under great suffering) was constantly admitting his need. He prayed this for the Ephesian believers.
That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man. (Ephesians 3:16)
THE SOURCE
That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory …
Paul knew that only One could give them (and him) what was needed. But He also knew that if we rely upon Christ, it is an inexhaustible supply … never-ending strength! The “riches of His glory!”
THE DELIVERY
… to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man.
The Spirit of God comes to live in every true Christian the moment they believe. God’s great gift is to give us His own Spirit with such nearness that He is always accessible.
Many believers don’t know of His indwelling. They have the Divine engine in the car but never turn the key through dependency and prayer. They face life with the insipid resources of mere humanity.
No demand is made upon a believer’s life that is not made upon the Spirit within them. God allows us to operate without Him if we proudly choose. But humble, dependent prayers like Paul’s unlock the limitless One. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” Paul said (Philippians 4:13). He learned to genuinely “glory” in his weakness, for he knew that “when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
I was horribly sick one Saturday night and needed to preach multiple times the next day. I didn’t sleep at all throughout the evening, but I felt I was supposed to continue to the church in the morning.
Huddled miserably in a side room, I prayed, “Lord, I don’t think I have the strength to do this.” And God’s Spirit spoke to my heart (in the way that only God can do) and said, “Who said this was about your strength?” With sudden realization and joy, I gave Him my body as His instrument and asked Him to fill it with His strength. I went out and preached with unusual power … and then collapsed in my bed that afternoon!
God will always empower us for the tasks He wants accomplished … if we will ask.
I have found this formula effective over and over again. It never fails!
My weakness + faith in His strength = His work done in His power, to His glory.
Memorize Paul’s prayer today. Pray it for yourself and others daily … and watch what The-God-Of-All-Strength will do!
March 27, 2025
When our faith is sufficient to lead us to actually follow God’s plan, we will always see that it is “good, acceptable, and perfect.” These words, as always, are important.
March 11, 2025
God knows what He is about. Always include in your request the greatest prayer—the prayer of surrender. “Lord, Your will be done.” This is the prayer, when humbly prayed, that will always be answered and yield the most valuable result from the God who loves us best ... even if the answer is hard.
March 05, 2025
Every created man or woman must make their choice. What will you do with God? Will you embrace or reject Him? Draw near or run away? Trust and serve Him or doubt God and serve yourself? This foundational choice determines everything.
