The Strength of God

2 Thessalonians 2:13-16, “But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.   ¹⁴ He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.  ¹⁵ So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.  ¹⁶ May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, ¹⁷ encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” (NIV)

Each of us has found ourselves at the point of physical weakness, emotional weakness, financial weakness and even spiritual weakness.   It is during those moments that we need strength that goes beyond human strength.   The strength we need must come from the Eternal God who possesses all power, authority and ability.   When it appears that all hope is lost we can count on the strength of God that far surpasses any difficulty that we are facing.   This passage of scripture was initially written to the church in Thessalonica.   The Apostle Paul reminds this group of believers that they are “loved by the Lord”; “chosen to be saved”; and “(they) might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ”.   He concludes this portion of his letter with this prayer and I want to pray this prayer over each of us today; “ May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”

 

We can depend on God to supply the strength that we need as we face the situations and challenges of daily living. We must ALWAYS REMEMBER that God loves us and that He is aware of the challenges that we face.