Strength for Now

2 Cor 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. 7 Do you look at things according to the outward appearance? If anyone is convinced in himself that he is Christ's, let him again consider this in himself, that just as he is Christ's, even so we are Christ's.

There are occasions in life you can plan for.

As my son and others have looked forward to the football season, (which for him began this past Thursday,) they have involved themselves in some pretty intensive workouts for an extended period of time. Strength and conditioning became as important to the team as game-planning. In fact, they spent all summer working on strength and conditioning, including running, weight-training, and agility drills, and only in the past couple weeks did they focus on game-planning.

The coaches knew without strength and conditioning all the game-planning in the world wouldn’t amount to much. The game lasts 60 minutes, and winning the first two minutes and losing the last 58 will never result in victory. Indeed, the team that is the strongest and lasts the longest will most often win. Most coaches plan their conditioning workouts with an eye to the fourth quarter, not the first.

Many Christians do a lot of game-planning and very little strength-training. They attend church faithfully; listening to message after message, tune in to all the Christian radio stations for insulation from the world, “Amen!” all the good words they hear, and then never put them into play in their lives.

The reason is because the Christian life is very easily imagined, (very comfortably too, I might add,) but much more difficult to actually do. Like anything WORTH the doing of, following Christ requires strength. The Christian life requires faithfulness, diligence, and the weakness necessary to implement the strength required.

Did you say weakness? Yes, this is what the apostle Paul is driving at. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. They are weapons of the heart, designed both to defend and to pierce, each in their appropriate times. Unless we realize how weak we are, we will never appropriate the power of Christ, as we fail to see the requirement. And then we find ourselves losing ‘the game’ because we are not strong enough to compete with worldly influences because we are sons of Adam. We need the Word of God AND the power of God in our lives. I can do ALL things in the power of the strength of Jesus Christ. My weakness is His strength.

-  Pastor Bill