STRENGTH FROM THE LORD

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STRENGTH FROM THE LORD

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

Growing Weary?

Have you ever been so tired mentally you wanted to stop trying to complete a task? God has help ready to give us for those times. He accepts calls for help from people who seek Him. When we reach out to God it demonstrates we know we can’t go on without Him.

Prayer of a godly mother

At one low point in my life, my schooling almost complete, I grew discouraged. I had failed my exam once, took it again the next year and got six out of seven questions right. The school granted me mercy yet again. They allowed me to work for one year to complete the portion of the exam I missed. Close to the end of that year, I felt exhausted and wanted to quit. Too weary to go on, I called my mother in another state. She told me if I gave up now I would regret it the rest of my life. Our conversation ended. She took the matter to the Lord, asking Him to give me strength to finish. By God’s help I graduated, having earned the degree I sought.

Joined with Jesus, yoked with Him, He carries the heavy load.

When our strength is spent, God tells us to “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22). Jesus tells us to “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of Me: for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). A yoke refers to “a wooden frame or bar with loops or bows at either end, used for harnessing together a pair of oxen or horses.” Before tractors were invented, farmers used oxen or horses to plow ground for planting crops. A yoke paired two oxen or horses together to divide the load weight. The farmer also used a yoke to train a younger inexperienced ox or horse by pairing him with one older and experienced.

Bear Fruit that Remains

God gives us strength to accomplish something for His glory. God longs to grow spiritual fruit in us. Jesus said “Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it you” (John 15:16).

Example from scripture

Asa, king of Judah, is an example from scripture about how we are to rely on God for strength. Afterward however, a more experience king, he began to rely on our own strength. In the first battle, Asa led his troops in the power of the LORD. Outnumbered two to one, “Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, ‘LORD, it is nothing with Thee, to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, Thou art our God, let not man prevail against Thee.’ So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled” (II Chronicles 14:11-12).

God’s message to Asa

A few years later Asa faced another battle with a different enemy. This time Asa thought he could handle it on his own and did not ask God for help.  Asa’s army won and they all celebrated their victory. However, Asa had lost favor with God. God sent him a prophet named Hanani with a message for him. “Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, He delivered them out of thine hand. For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him.”

Victory with consequences

Because Asa didn’t seek God’s help in this battle God said through Hanani, “Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars” (II Chronicles 16:8-9). As we consider Asa’s success and mistakes, we can take note that all our actions have consequences in the spiritual realm.

God longs to win the battles for us

God yearns for His children to ask Him for help. Too often we rely on our own strength. When we think we have mastered the challenge we face, we discover God is in charge of success. May God give us spiritual insight to seek out God in good times so we will have a habit established ready to use in bad times.

Shirley Logsdon

 

For further readings from previous posts

https://www.treadingwatertiljesuscomes.com/2015/10/06/the-yoke/ by Tricia Cook

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About Shirley Logsdon

I am the only child of Christian parents who wanted me to know God personally as they did. One night during church we watched a movie depicting a family in their home accepting Jesus as their personal Savior. I was nine and realized then my desire to make Jesus my personal Savior. With the full support of my parents, I met with the pastor and prayed to receive Christ. A few years later, several of us around the same age began classes for our confirmation to become church members. The privilege of taking communion was a special time for me. . During my teenage years I was outwardly complacent, but was inwardly rebellious. I developed the nasty habit of disrupting harmony in the household by nitpicking at anything and everything. A preacher came to hold revival services at my dad’s church and nailed me silently with looks. This helped me tremendously. I turned a corner and began to respect and obey my parents in attitude and actions. I survived these years through prayer (mine, my parents and friends). The love and tenacity of my parents and God’s grace got me through these years of upheaval. I readily identify with David the Psalmist when he said in Psalm 25:7, “Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to Thy mercy remember Thou me for Thy goodness’ sake, O LORD.” Because my parents provided a stable home life for me, when I went to college my Christian values remained intact. After completing my education in 1979, I started working. For a while, I worked at temp agencies, then I did odd jobs. I settled down in a secretarial position in 1986 working for a firm specializing in retirement plan administration. In 2007, I started working for a law firm, eventually becoming a knowledge management assistant in their law library, helping to alert attorneys to new business opportunities. I am a productive citizen of my country in large part because my parents prayed for me and made clear by word and example what they expected of me. I am extremely grateful to God for them. John 15:5 is my life verse: “I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” I am confronted with this realization every day I live, and it helps keep me on the straight and narrow path. I met my future husband at church. After a few years of our two families getting acquainted, he and I started courting. We married at the church where we met, in the presence of many relatives and friends. We have been married for 29 years. My hobbies are reading, cooking, and canning or freezing what my beloved husband grows in the garden. Also, I thoroughly enjoy writing. While my writing has included poems, most of my writing has been letters to family and friends. I like to share my faith when I write and am fond of adding a Bible verse or two to help focus on the source of our life. Since I am now retired after working 38 years, I can concentrate on keeping up with birthdays. Something else I enjoy is studying the Bible, often with others. Blogging is a new form of writing for me. I am getting my feet wet and I’m beginning to enjoy the experience.

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