How to Strengthen Yourself in the Lord
Ephesians 6:10 tells believers to "be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might," but what does that mean and how can we achieve this strength when challenges come? In today's video, Christina explores a dark moment in David's life where instead of shrinking back and quitting, he strengthens himself in the Lord and finds the strength to keep going. Discover that same strength by learning the 4 important steps to take to strengthen yourself in the Lord.
At the beginning of this year, I was facing some intense spiritual warfare. As I was praying to God about it and letting Him know, I didn’t know what to do. He reminded me of a Bible study I wrote a few years ago called “Stand Firm.” As I was renewing my notes from that study, Paul's words in Ephesians 6 jumped out at me. In this passage, Paul outlines the armor of God that we need to put on as believers to protect ourselves and fight against spiritual warfare. Once he lists out each piece of armor, he says this:
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might." (Ephesians 6:10 ESV)
The words “Be strong in the Lord” really resonated with my spirit. Then as I was listening to a Bible teacher, she referenced the same verse. The next morning as I was reading my devotional, Ephesians 6:10, that same phrase came up again.
Now I don’t believe in coincidence. Right after praying to God about what I should do, 3 times I hear “Be strong in the Lord. '' So I’m leaning in now because I’m receiving that as God's answer to my prayer.
Maybe you are in a situation where you feel completely weak and helpless and you don’t know what to do. Maybe you are facing an insurmountable attack and you don’t know what to do. Maybe you are at a loss and feel like you don’t have enough, or you made a mistake and don’t know how to make it better. Maybe you’re heartbroken, lonely, anxious, confused or desperate.
I believe that in all these situations God is telling us to “be strong in the Lord.”
Of course that leads to the question: well how do I do that? How am I to be strong in the Lord when I feel so weak?
But what does that mean to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” as Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:10?
Well, we see this very similar statement in 1 Samuel 30:6 that can help us answer this question. In this text, we read about David. During this time in his life, he is running from King Saul of Israel (who is also his father-in-law), because Saul was out to kill David. So David runs to the land of the Philistines who are enemies of the Israelites. David is not supposed to be here but he has given in to fear and runs away. One day, David’s camp is ambushed while he is away by the Amalekites who take their women and children before burning everything down. David’s men become so furious with him out of their pain, they contemplate stoning him to death.
So let’s recap. David is not where he’s supposed to be, he’s lost everything, and now his very own men want to kill him. How do you think he responded? How would you have responded? 1 Samuel 30: 6 tells us:
"And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God." (1 Samuel 30:6 ESV)
David could have wallowed in self-pity. In his sorrow, he could have surrendered to his men and let them kill him in their anger. Or he could have become angry and lashed out at them. He could have passed the blame and fought his very own men in defensiveness. But he does neither of the two. What does he do? David strengthened himself in the Lord. He gets up, and he leads his men to go find and rescue their wives and children and he is successful in doing so.
The only response that allowed David to find victory even in his distress was to strengthen himself in the Lord. I want to point out 3 things that David did to strengthen himself in the Lord that we too need to be doing as believers:
HOW TO STRENGTHEN YOURSELF IN THE LORD
Look to God.
The first step David took to strengthen Himself in the Lord was to look to God. David could have looked to his situation and how he lost everything, he could have looked to his men wanting to kill him, he could have looked to himself to blame, he could have looked to his past and how Saul wanting to kill him led him to this moment. All those things were real, but focusing on them was not going to do anything. But when he focused on God and what God could do he found strength because he remembered no matter how big his problems were, His God was bigger. And knowing who your God is and what He is capable of especially when facing hardship is rocket fuel to the believer.
Keep the right perspective.
The next thing that David did to strengthen himself in the Lord was having the right perspective. David’s men wanted to kill him because they thought it was all over, all was lost, and there was no hope of coming back. But David knew that if God didn’t say it was over, then it wasn’t over. As he focused on God, David gained hope which is more strength for the believer. Is there a situation in your life that you’ve given up on? Have you convinced yourself that it’s just all over without consulting the Lord your God?
What are you focusing on? Are you focused on yourself and what you can’t do or what God can do? Are you focused on how it’s never been done or how God will make a new way? Are you focused on how you’re too weak and broken or how big your God is? When we look to God first, we then gain a perspective that strengthens our help to keep going.
Talk yourself into the right decision.
The next thing David did to strengthen himself in the Lord was to talk himself into the right decision. David got into this whole situation that left him distressed (with his camp being ambushed and his wives and children held captive) because he talked himself into it. As I told you, David was running from Saul, but God did not tell him to run to Philistine. So why is he here? After becoming discouraged because of Saul’s attacks on His life, David starts talking to himself. We read about it in 1 Samuel 27:1:
"Then David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand." (1 Samuel 27:1 ESV)
Listen, there is nothing wrong with David talking to himself. The problem is in what he’s telling himself.
First, he convinces himself that Saul is going to kill him. Now his circumstance would lead one to believe that was true, as Saul had made several attempts on David’s life. But God had already anointed David to be the next king of Israel. So David had to choose to believe God would keep his word (which wouldn’t happen if David was killed by the hands of Saul) or he could believe the threats of Saul. David chose the latter, he believed the lie, and he found himself in a situation he could have avoided had he strengthened himself in the Lord, and stood his ground. He talked himself into the wrong decision.
As much as I believe he talked himself into the wrong decision in 1 Samuel chapter 27, I also believe he talked himself into the right decision in chapter 30.
If you need the strength to get out of a pit you’ve dug for yourself, or victory to win an overwhelming battle that you didn’t even ask for, you need to strengthen yourself in the Lord by talking to yourself about who your God is, not how bad your circumstance is. Talk to yourself and convince yourself why you should trust God. Don’t wait until you feel like trusting God, don’t wait for the perfect sermon on a Sunday, or an encouraging text from a friend. Encourage yourself in the Lord. At this moment, David had nothing but God and he convinced himself that God was enough and it was then, even in the midst of his utter despair, that he found the strength to get up and carry on.
Walk with God.
The last way that David strengthened himself in the Lord was that he walked with God. Our text doesn’t simply say “David strengthened himself in the Lord” period. It doesn’t end there. It says “He strengthened himself in the Lord His God.” David knew the Lord personally and even though he wasn’t where he was supposed to be, he knew his God and he knew he could always turn to Him, whether he was in sin, despair, or prosperity. Strengthening ourselves in the Lord is not a single occurrence. It’s consistently seeking the Lord as our source, every single day. If you want to strengthen a muscle, you don’t work it out one time and then just expect it to be at its optimal strength, or think it’s going to stay strong if you never work it out again. If you want your muscle to be strong, you work it out over and over again. If we want to strengthen ourselves in the Lord, we make seeking the Lord and relying on Him for strength a daily habit.
As a recap, here are the four ways we strengthen ourselves in the Lord:
- Look to God and not your circumstance.
- Have the right perspective of who your God is and what He is capable of doing.
- Talk yourself into the right decision.
- Walk with God daily.
Once you’ve strengthened yourself in the Lord, you’ll want to put on the armor of God. Learn how to do that by watching my video Bible study series “Stand Firm” where I teach about each piece of armor the Lord gives as outlined in Ephesians 6. Click the link in the description of this video to study with me.
Now I’d love to hear from you Beloved. How do you strengthen yourself in the Lord? Let's lift one another up in the comments.
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As always, thank you so much for watching and until next time, be beautiful, be blessed, and be loved.
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