“I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4v13.
You are likely to have come across this verse many times – such a powerful message in very few words. Before writing this devotion I struggled to decide what I wanted to share with you, but then this message came to me. The central meaning of the message is much deeper than these words we read; our human strength in not sufficient or sustaining enough to carry us through life, we instead need God’s strength that overcomes our weakness. I came across an equation that says [event + response = outcome], which in this context simply means that no matter what situation you face you can respond with the strength of Christ to make it through. If you have a negative outlook on things and don't turn to God for help then the outcome could be very different.
So how do you do this? Well, you can strengthen and renew yourself by understanding who Christ is, and then the working and guidance of the Holy Spirit in us. Often we are so busy with life fighting so many battles on our own. We tend to forget Christ and His promises. We forget to constantly seek and understand what His will for us is and how that can become real to us and change how we view things. Isaiah 40v31 says "if we wait on the Lord we will renew our strength." When we think about what God has done for us or those around us, we can move forward with strength facing many challenging circumstances. It would be unusual for us to go through life without struggles but His strength sustains us. For me I've had many of those experiences and I sometimes find it hard to focus on what matters most…God. When I do, He reminds me that I am not experiencing this on my own, and should never even try to deal with life on my own, but remember that He is always there, he always has been and always will be. I just need to trust Him to lead a little more and everything will work out in the end.
Comments