Hebrews 11:33-34 (NKJV)
……who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
From an actual newspaper contest where entrants ages 4 to 15 were asked to imitate “Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey,” one thirteen year old wrote this:
“Give me the strength to change the things I can, the grace to accept the things I cannot ……………and a great big bag of money!”
Strength is a virtue everyone wants. No one looks at the future and hopes they will be weak in talents or character or mental capacities.
A man or woman who is weak and has not been successful in life can become strong. The Bible says that faith can take you in your weakness and make you strong. It allows people who were at one time dominated by the issues of life to rise above them and live a life out of His strength. Faith allows us to live as though we were as strong as God because He allows us, and actually commands us, to put on His strength!
Ephes. 6:10 (NIV) Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
Philip. 4:13 (NIV) I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Faith takes those promises and commands us to embrace them. The person who does so BECOMES STRONG.
Sometimes I wonder if the famous strongman in the Bible, Samson, didn’t really look like Woody Allen. God’s ability can make the weakest person strong.
It is part of God’s ‘modus oporendi’ to take the weak things of the world and turn them into great, strong things. He delights in taking the weakest men and women and turning them into the strongest. He takes the worst and makes them the best.
1 Cor. 1:27 (NIV) But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
How does this happen? When we put our faith in Jesus Christ He does something for us, and then He requires us to believe in what He has done. The Bible says that Christians have become something special.