Strength probably conjures up different pictures in our minds: strong buildings…
… or strong people:
or super-heroes:
We might think of Samson (single-handedly killing a lion in Judges 14:5-6 and killing thirty men in one go at Ashkelon in Judges 14:19):
When we think of everyday strength, however, the key question is ‘Whose Strength Is It Anyway?’
As Christians, we’re not called to live life in our own strength. That is one of the fundamental mistakes we make. Paul says to the Galatians ‘After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?’ (Gal 3:3) and any time we try to live life simply in our own strength, using our own resources, relying on our own skills rather than living by faith and resting on God’s strength and grace, we are likely to come unstuck. We have to recognise that for the Christian, life is lived in God’s grace and power, not in our own strength and wisdom.
God is strong (see Deut 3:4, Ps 24:8, Prov 18:10, Ps 89:10, 13, Ps 140:7, Prov 23:11, Jer 50:34). The exodus from Egypt demonstrated His power over Pharaoh (see Ex 3:19-20, Ex 14:13-31) and showed Israel His protection and power in no uncertain terms. The Bible abounds with examples of God’s strength: God’s power enabling Sarah and then Hannah to conceive after years of barrenness; people taking possession of Jericho without having to fight, the walls tumbling down miraculously; David able to kill the giant with just a sling and five stones because of God’s presence with Him; Daniel being preserved from the ferocity of the lions and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego preserved from the fiery furnace. In the New Testament, we see miracles of healing and deliverance throughout the life of Jesus which testify to God’s strength and authority over creation (the calming of the storm, for example), over demonic forces (when Jesus casts evil spirits from people), over sickness (when people are healed) and even over death (when He raises the widow’s son, Jairus’s daughter or Lazarus, for example) and later we see God’s power evident in miracles performed by apostles and to rescue them (the earthquake delivering Paul and Silas from prison, for example.) Because God is strong, He is able to be a stronghold for us – a place of refuge and safety and protection. (2 Sam 22:3, Ps 9:1, Ps 27:1) We really don’t have to depend on our strength; we depend on a God who is strong!