word4U2day

2019-06-15

God's strength

Psalm 18:32 NIV

When we're facing something tough, we need to rely on God's strength, not ours. On our own we might feel weak, but with God we're strong. There's a popular saying that God won't give us more than we can handle. But sometimes it is more than we can handle, because God's trying to show us that we need to rely on His strength. In 2 Corinthians 1, Paul talks about the troubles they experienced in Asia. He writes: 'We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead' (vv.8-9 NIV). We'll all go through situations that make us cling to God, because without Him we wouldn't get through them. Gideon's battle against the Midianites (have a read of Judges 7) is a great example of God showing that He wants us to recognise and rely on His strength. Gideon started out with an army of 32,000 men, but gradually God reduced it down to 300. He said: 'You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, "My own strength has saved me"' (Judges 7:2 NIV). In human eyes, going into battle with an army of only 300 men would have meant certain defeat. But they won. God was showing the Israelites that they needed to rely on His strength. The Bible is full of verses telling us about God's strength and His willingness to help us. One of the most famous is in Isaiah 40: 'He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak...those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength' (vv.29-31 NIV).

Links to Bible verses: Holy Bible

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