The Lord Gives You Strength

But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength.
2 Timothy 4:17

Daily Devotion – November 3, 2020

Devotion based on 2 Timothy 4:17

See series: Devotions

You grab a little boy’s arm and say, “Wow, look how strong you are!” And the boy grins from ear to ear. We can’t blame him. We like strength. We strive for strong marriages. We invest in a strong stock market. We take aptitude tests to find our strengths. And we vote for whom we think is the strongest candidate.

Why are we so obsessed with strength? I’m not so sure if it’s an obsession with strength as much as it is a fear of weakness. Weakness means others can take advantage of me or overpower me. Weakness means I am not the best and that I am vulnerable. Plainly said, weakness means there’s something wrong with me. And so, I hide my weaknesses as best I can.

As much as you may try to hide your weaknesses from others, there is One who knows every single one of your weaknesses, even better than you do. And that’s your God. But here’s the difference between God and many in our world: God doesn’t show you the door when he sees your weaknesses. Rather, he shows you himself. When you are weak, he is strong. And his strength isn’t four-year-old bicep strength. Nor is it Ford Super Duty with 6.7-liter power stroke strength. His strength is world creating, wind calming, death defeating strength. God’s strength is just that, God-strength. And he uses his strength for you.

Most importantly, he used his strength to work all of world history in order to save you from your sins by his sacrificial death on the cross. At first, this might seem a strange way to show strength, but it most certainly does—not just strength, but love. And then, in the greatest show of strength in the history of this world, he was brought back to life on Easter morning to prove that he had conquered death and won eternal life for you.

So go ahead, pull out a piece of paper. Write down all your weaknesses, for your eyes only. On the other side of the ledger put the name, “Lord.” The winner is clear. The Lord will give you strength.

Prayer:
Lord, give me confidence in your strength to overcome all of my weaknesses. Amen.

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