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Promises: Strength to Serve

Promises: Strength to Serve

• October 21, 2024 •
silhouette photography of person standing on green grass in front of mountains during golden hour

“So he answered me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength or by might, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord of Armies.” (Zechariah 4:6, CSB)

I can’t do it. You’re right, you can’t. We all have a basic idea of what is within our abilities and strengths and what is not. There is a foundational truth in our walk with Christ: Faith begins when our strength ends. In those moments when we are at the end of our ability and strength, we truly trust and rely on God. 

Salvation itself is an example of that end of strength and the beginning of faith. There is nothing we can/could do to save ourselves from our sin and its penalty—zip, zero, nada.   Instead, we trust in Jesus and His blood shed on the cross. That is just the first step. 

In our walk with Jesus He commands us to forgive, to love others, to have compassion on the weak, to tell the world about Him, and to be salt and light in this world. There’s a degree to which we can do those on our own strength, but also a degree of impossibility that requires God’s strength. 

God promises, “but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31, CSB) God will empower you to do the impossible, but you must wait on Him. Our wait often takes us to where God’s promise seems impossible. There’s no way a woman past child-bearing can become pregnant, yet they did (Sarah, Elizabeth). There’s no way that five loaves and two fish can feed over 5000 folks, yet they did. There is no way that God would accept a sinner like me, and yet He did. 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5–6, CSB)

Other verses for this promise (Compiled by David Wilkerson)

  • Psalm 63:35
  • Acts 1:8
  • Isaiah 26:4
  • John 1:12
  • Isaiah 40:31
  • 2 Corinthians 12:9
  • Ephesians 6:13
  • Isaiah 41:10
  • Philippians 2:13
  • Psalm 37:39
  • Ephesians 3:16
  • Phillippians 4:13
  • Colossians 1:11
  • Job 17:9
  • Ephesians 2:10
  • Psalm 121:1-2
Dale Heinold
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