Stronger As We Go
As many of you know, our church is the midst of Forty Nights of Prayer, meeting each night during the week. Our purpose is to draw closer to the Lord through prayer, fellowship and worship. We have already seen many positive results as people pressed into the throne room of God. Ephesians 2:6 declares “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:”
One night this past was particularly noteworthy as God’s presence filled the sanctuary. There was no question as to whether or not the Lord was with us; you could sense the Lord was wanting us to be still and hear what He had to say. God was telling us our strength was not in ourselves, or even in what we do; our strength rests in Almighty God. Psalms 84:7, KJV, declares “They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.”
I love the part that says we go from strength to strength, but the New Century Version (NCV) really puts our blessing in a new light. Let me tell you, child of God, the Lord is on our side and wants us to win. Look at Psalm 84:5-7
5 Happy are those whose strength comes from you,
who want to travel to Jerusalem.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it like a spring.
The autumn rains fill it with pools of water.
7 The people get stronger as they go,
and everyone meets with God in Jerusalem.
Pay particular attention to verse 7 – “The people get stronger as they go,”. Our bodies gain strength through physical exercise, and our spirits grow stronger through prayer, studying and hearing God’s eternal Word and walking in fellowship with the Lord.
The Word of God declares in Habakkuk 3:19 “The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.” We don’t have all the answers, and lack the strength to do what is right within our own selves, but, thankfully, the Lord gives us the desire and push to go forward. God makes me sure-footed, just like the mountain goat, and I get to walk on high places with Him.
Our life with Christ is a journey, and we must go forward, as we make our way to heaven. There are plenty of bumps, bruises and disappointments along the way, but the Lord will be with us as we go. The Apostle Paul was very familiar with adversity and God’s amazing strength. This man of God determined in his heart he would press on, and I am quite certain he knew where his strength came from. Look what he wrote in Philippians 3:14 “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
My question to you is,
Are you getting stronger as you go?
Not only am i getting stronger, we are getting stronger as a church family. I thank God a million times for our church and for you pastor Ron
Getting stronger … more or less yes but sometimes I wonder. BTW, I think you meant Ephesians 2:6 in the first paragraph. Not trying to be critical, I just know when I make a little mistake I’m like, “dad gummit” but I like to go back and fix it. Thanks for the encouraging words. Florida did the job, my Bulldogs shot themselves in the foot a lot.
Hey, Doc, you’re absolutely right about the scripture reference. I should get my secretary to proof all my work for me. The only thing is, I don’t have a secretary. Have you ever known what you wanted to do, but your fingers didn’t do what you wanted them to do? Anyway, thanks for the heads-up.
According to some reports I’ve seen, Florida should be healthy for next week’s game, and it should be a good one, too. Now, picture this: on Sunday mornings, my FSU clerk, Miami Hurricanes Sunday School Superintendent and I are all in the same office together. Needless to say, we have some good discussions.