Seven Things We Should Seek (Part 5)
Seek Strength
It’s can be a blessing and a curse, but I always have a plan.
On Saturday, we arrived home at around Noon after a whirlwind trip to Austin and San Antonio, which included a three-car automobile accident while I was in the Alamo City. My plan was to rest for a couple of hours, then head to church around 3:00 p.m. It seemed like a good plan until about 2:30 p.m. when it was time to get up from lounging. To my surprise, I was still energy depleted and couldn’t move. I felt like I’d been hit by a truck. Oh yea, I was hit by a truck. At that moment, I realized my car accident on Friday had taken more out of me than I thought and I needed God’s strength. I prayed, Lord, I need for you to revitalize me so I can attend church, as well as the class afterwards. That’s when I heard, “It’s okay to rest.”
God wasn’t going to infuse me with his strength at this moment because He knew the real reason I was so tired. Because of a hectic schedule, I had not taken a Sabbath rest in weeks and now He was forcing me to rest. In order to recover from both the accident and weeks of work, He knew I needed to take it easy for a full day. I was on low power, even before my car accident.
1 Chronicles 16:11 says, “Look to the LORD and His strength; seek His face always.”
There are times when we can’t go another step.
In our own power, we can’t fulfill the “to do” list.
We are unable to handle the dire situations surrounding us.
It is during these scenarios that we must seek the strength of God.
The Holy Spirit may tell you to put it all aside for one day and rest, like He did me. He may supernaturally fill you with strength so you can continue on with His power pack.
Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”
The key is to not push and try to move forward in your own strength when your energy is waning. It takes humility to say, “I can’t do this anymore. I need some help.”
I’ll admit that I can be stubborn in this area. I tend to operate on reduced power a lot of the time, but that is not what God wants from us. He desires for us to rely on Him for our strength. He wants us to acknowledge the power source.
The Apostle Paul, a guy who had an impressive resume, often admitted that he relied on Christ’s strength, both physically and emotionally, so he could fulfill his calling to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. When at one point his support system of friends disappeared, Paul made this statement to his spiritual son, Timothy: “But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear” (2 Timothy 4:7). God gave Paul strength when he was emotionally depleted due to betrayal.
Do you need strength today? Then seek strength from an unlimited power source, Jesus Christ. He promises to supply all our needs (Philippians 4:19) and that includes providing the strength we are lacking to accomplish His purpose for our lives.