Strength in the Lord

I hope that you all had a safe and blessed 4th of July weekend! And I want to thank you all again for the warm welcome that my family received Sunday morning for our first day in worship with you. We love your warmth, your kindness, and your passion for Jesus! We look forward to what God has in store for us all together in the months and years to come!

    Since moving into the parsonage, one of my morning blessings is to have my devotional time of Scripture reading and prayer in the sun room that faces Manville Road before it gets too hot to use from the heat of the day. These mornings are a peaceful time for me to be still before the Lord, to lay my requests and concerns and hopes before him, to lift up others in prayer to God’s throne of grace, and to listen. 

    This morning as I was reading a portion of 2 Samuel I noticed that the GCUMC sign had been changed. The side facing the parsonage read:

LIFE DOESN’T GET EASIER

YOU JUST GET STRONGER

    I think that there is some deep truth in that statement for some people. And yet for others life seems to beat them down to a point of dismay and utter hopelessness. So what’s the difference?

    Let me take you to the passage from 2 Samuel that I am reading this morning. At this point in the story the first king of Israel, Saul, has been killed in battle. There is a political and military struggle for who will succeed Saul to be the new king, even though God had chosen David, a young shepherd boy, to be the king in Saul’s place. After many struggles, and even more battles, 2 Samuel chapter 5 recounts David being recognized by the people as the king (sometimes it takes us longer to recognize and admit what God has already put in place!), and the capture of the city of Zion, later to be renamed “the city of David”, aka Jerusalem. 

    And then there is this verse, “And David became more and more powerful, because the Lord God of heavens armies was with him” (5:10).

    The strength that David had came from the Lord being with him. And if you know much of David’s story then you know that his life sure didn’t get any easier, and I know that ours will not either. 

    In fact, many times we find in this life that the closer we strive to stay to our Christian faith, the more the devil throws at us. So life doesn’t get easier. But our strength comes the Lord if we remain in Christ so that He remains in us. Our strength comes from the power of the Holy Spirit working in us and through us. Our strength comes as we stay connected to Jesus (the vine) and stay connected to one another (the body of Christ). Our strength comes as we grow in our faith through daily spiritual disciplines, acts of service, and living in love. 

    This week I want to encourage you that whatever is happening in your life, your strength comes from the One who is in you. And you will have all the strength that you need to overcome. Thanks be to God!

    Have a wonderful week Church family and may God continue to strengthen you as you grow in grace and love, in Jesus name. Amen.