(Was part of the Monday Mood Food series)
The Holy Spirit prompted us to devote the next 9 weeks to principles and tools for strengthening yourself in the LORD.
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Eph 6:10
For every one of us it is a time to be courageous and bold in the LORD. In order to be courageous you need encouragement to keep going and to grow stronger. However, sometimes everything will be against you; you will be all alone and there will not be anyone to strengthen and encourage you.
David felt like that when he and his men came back and found their wives and children captured by the Amalekites; he was discouraged and sad but also all alone as the people spoke of stoning him.
And David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him… but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God. 1 Sa 30:6
When feeling like this, it is time to dig deep into the storehouse of God’s love and power and to strengthen yourself in the LORD, to become more mature in Him. David could choose to feel depressed and sorry for himself and to give up. Instead he chose to encourage himself in the Lord, and with God’s help he won a major victory, in the midst of overwhelming odds stacked against him! What will you choose?
Like almost everything in life, input will be needed, a process will follow after which output will be evident. Input (in the form of being and resting in the LORD) is required from you. The process of receiving revelation during your time of resting in Him, and believing and receiving it will follow. This will lead to the output of being strengthened in Him and running again with faith and joy, manifesting His power and strength.
You can only give what you have received. To be able to strengthen and encourage others, you need to be strengthened and filled yourself, so that from the abundance of Jesus Christ, the Hope of Glory (Col 1:29) strength and encouragement may effortlessly flow and manifest itself, first in your own life and then through you into the lives of other people.
During the next 9 weeks we will look at 9 practical tools to strengthen yourself in the Lord during the three phases of resting in Him, receiving restoration and revelation and running again with joy.
Read 1 Sam 30 this week. Then look at your own life and identify the situations in which the odds are stacked against you. Make a firm commitment to strengthen yourself in the Lord concerning these during the next 9 weeks, and victory will be yours…
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