You are looking for ways to be strong in the Lord that is why you are reading this material. In this article, I want to give you two keys that will help you to receive strength from God.
God Wants You To Receive Strength
Before that, let me make it known to you that God has done everything possible for you to be empowered in order that you can do the things He wants you to do for His glory. It is for HIS GLORY that you are allowed to receive HIS STRENGTH. If the purpose of getting God’s attention is not for His glory, it is not possible that you will receive anything from Him. But if your desire for the strength of God is to do what He wants then I can assure you on authority of His word that you will be endowed with power from Heaven, and you are halfway there.
Bible Proof: You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, so you can spend it on your passions. – James 4:3
Understanding: The purpose for the strength of God is to do His will and for His glory.
KEYS TO RECEIVING THE STRENGTH OF GOD
Now let us go on to the keys that will enable you to receive strength from God. The word ‘strength’ also means power. In other words, the strength of God is the power of God. The understanding of this takes us to the first key.
Key 1: YOU MUST BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT
Few moments before Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven, He promised His disciples ( as well as anyone who will believe in Him) that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them.(Acts 1:8). Truly, immediately the Holy Spirit came upon His disciples on the day of Pentecost, Peter who out of fear denied Jesus Christ on three consecutive times received power to stand before a multitude of people without fear or panic, confessed Jesus Christ as the Saviour and about 3000 people on that day repented gave their lives to Jesus Christ(Acts 2).
You can see Peter received the strength of God to do the will of God. This strength to stand before people was earlier not in Peter, but immediately the Holy Spirit came upon him, he got the power to do what he could not do before. So, understand that the Holy Spirit is the custodian of God’s strength – He is the strength of God.
Are you weak in serving God? Do you need power to do something in any area of your life that will bring a testimony and glory to God? Are you sick and battling with a chronic disease? Do you feel weak in spirit? You must be born again and be filled with the Holy Spirit! I have carefully selected 8 Bible verses that prove that once you are filled with the Holy Spirit you will receive strength from God. Since I have carefully selected these verses, you must CAREFULLY read them for understanding.
Bible proof 1: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. – Luke 1:35
Bible proof 2: After making Peter and John stand in their midst, they began to inquire, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, replied…
Bible proof 3: The proposal pleased the entire group, so they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit… Now Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and miraculous signsamong the people.- Acts 6:5, 8
Bible proof 4: Now Simon, when he saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, offered them money, saying, “Give me this power too, so that everyone I place my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.- Acts 8:18, 19
Bible proof 5: For I will not dare to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in order to bring about the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit of God. –Romans 15:18, 19
Bible proof 6: My conversation and my preachingwere not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power. – 1Corinthians 2:4
Bible proof 7: I pray that according to the wealth of his glory he will grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person. – Ephesians 3:16
Bible proof 8: For God did not give us a Spirit of fear but of power and love and sound mind. – 2 Timothy 1:7
Understanding: The Holy Spirit is the strength of God; to receive strength from God, you must befilled with the Holy Spirit.
Key 2: THE JOY OF THE LORD WILL GIVE YOU STRENGTH
Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength – Nehemiah 8:10
In order to be strengthened by God you must take delight in the things of God. Earlier in this article, I stated that the purpose of the strength from God is to do His will and for His glory. When God sees you have interest in doing the things He has commanded and that you have joy in obeying Him, He will give you strength to do more.
If you have joy in the Lord, His strength will come upon you for His glory and you will be able to achieve what you could not. A lot of times, we focus on ourselves, look to ourselves and tend to please people instead of God. In the end, we achieve nothing, get drained and become weak and defeated in almost every area of our lives – we take interest in that which satisfies not.
Today, if you will decide to please the Lord, put on the garment of praise, have interest in godliness and be joyful in obeying Him then you will receive strength to finish race, overpower your enemies and be victorious in the battles of life. Jesus knew of this truth and admonished us to seek first the Kingdom of God, have interest in godliness, be joyful in pleasing God, and all other things we are struggling to get here on earth shall be given to us in addition to eternal life.
God First
There are times people want to receive from God first before obeying His command; people want to receive their healings and breakthroughs before they surrender to God – it does not work that way! This attitude has led a lot of people to seek for solution for their problems from sources apart from God. Let me announce to you as you read on that if you can develop interest for God and His word, you will receive strength from God to do that which you cannot do.
Worldliness
Have no interest in worldliness. The things of God are not the same as the things of the world. The joy of the Lord cannot be the same as the passion for sensuality. You cannot be deep-rooted and drowned in worldliness and expect to receive strength from God. You must first sacrifice the world and be sacrificed to the world and have keen interest in godliness; when God sees this in you His strength will be your portion.
His Spirit Alone
In the first key, I established that strength also means power, and the Holy Spirit is the strength or power of God. In Zechariah 4:6, God tells Zerubbabel that it is not by the might of man neither is it by the power of the flesh but by His Spirit. It means there are things you cannot achieve by your might and there are levels in life you cannot attain by the power of your flesh – these things can be done only by His Spirit, these levels can be attained by God’s power alone.You simply can do nothing about some things in life except by the strength of God.
The joy you have in God will propel you to receive the Holy Spirit, when His Spirit fills you, you will receive strength to do that which you could not do before – be joyful!
Money Cannot Buy
(Acts 8:9 – 24) In the city of Samaria, a man named Simon, who had been practicing magic and amazing the people, claiming to be someone great offered to buy the power of God with money. When he saw Peter and John laying their hands on some Christians that they may receive the Holy Spirit, Simon said, “Give me this power too, so that everyone I place my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.’’ No amount of money can buy the strength which comes from God! Riches cannot be exchanged for the power of God – it takes a pure and devoted heart and an unwavering interest in God as well as the things of God to receive this power Simon desired to also have.
Serve God Joyfully
King David said, I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD (Psalm 122:1). Do you rejoice when it is time for you to go to church? Sometimes we feel attending church is a burden – we become overwhelmed with church activities, we do not rejoice while praising God and we clap and dance as if someone is forcing us to do so – this is not the joy of the Lord. Has church become a burden to you lately? Has your zeal for the Lord and the things of God diminished? Do you no longer see the need to pray, praise God or fellowship with the brethren? If all or any of these is happening to you, let me remind you that you are becoming spiritually weak. Wake up! Remember your first love and serve God joyfully!
Power of Praise
Let me inform you that praising God is a deadly weapon against Satan and evil forces of darkness.The battle of Jericho, an incident which is recorded in the Book of Joshua, the first battle fought by the Israelites, reveals that Israel conquered their enemies with shouts of joy. To wit, the walls of Jericho fell down flat just by the shouts of the people of Israel. ‘So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.’ – Joshua 6:20
Praising God is a proven weapon that not only gives strength but also destroys the works of Satan. Be joyful! Make a joyful shout of praise and the walls of weakness in your life will be broken.
In Acts 16, Paul and Silas were arrested, beaten and put in prison. At midnight, the two were praying and singing hymns to God and suddenly there was a great earthquake which caused the foundations of the prison to be shaken and immediately all the doors were opened and every prisoner’s chain were loosed!This incident also brought about the jailer and his household being saved and were baptized.
Do not let anyone or anything steal the joy that you have in God, for the joy of the Lord is your power!
Stay in the liberty of Christ!