Strong in the Lord

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (Ephesians 6:10). The strength of every Christian lies in Almighty God. The teaching of the entire Bible leads us to abandon reliance on ourselves. To be strong in God involves two acts of faith. First, we must be firmly persuaded that the Lord is almighty in power. That must become a settled, unshakable conviction. Second, we must believe that we can experience this almighty power in our own lives. In other words, we must not only be convinced that God is almighty, but that He will display His power on our behalf, in the midst of every trial and temptation. These two distinct acts of faith are necessary to keep us from leaning on our own strength, and to encourage us to trust in God. The Christian is encouraged to make use of God’s almighty power as freely as if it were his own. William Gurnall, in The Christian in Complete Armour, put it well when he said, “God often suffers a contrary power many times to arise, in that very juncture of time, when he intends to show mercy to his people, that he may rear up the more magnificent pillar of remembrance to his own power.”