"God will strengthen you" By Diane Webb

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“God will strengthen you” By Diane Webb

II Thessalonians 3: 3 “But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you and keep you from evil.”

We can depend on the Lord to strengthen us and keep us from evil.  He will protect us from harm as well as temptation.  God gives us the physical and mental strength to resist doing wrong and to stand strong against others acting wrongly towards us.  Sometimes we need God to strengthen us to fight illness, or get up in the mornings, to remain silent, or to speak up.  “Lord, I can’t do this in my own strength, I need your help.” This is the prayer of many who rely on God and recognize their own weakness in the face of living.  Before we can depend on God, we must first realize we are powerless without him.  When we trust in our own abilities, we set ourselves up for the very thing God wants to protect us from.   Pride, arrogance, or both often keep us from understanding we cannot make it in our own strength.  Benjamin Franklin said the virtue he had the most difficulty achieving was humility.  He went on to say if he achieved some level of humility he became proud of the accomplishment therefore turning it into the opposite of humility--pride.  Franklin said the best he could achieve on a consistent basis was to speak and act with humility whether he actually felt it or not.  His hope was to eventually feel it when he was able to speak and act with humility long enough.  Hamlet (Shakespeare) said if you act a certain way long enough you will eventually become it.  He was speaking to his mother and advising her on how to achieve virtue.  Like Franklin, Hamlet believed the actions would eventually lead to the feelings.  Perhaps we cannot really feel humility for extended periods of time.  Perhaps pride is the biggest obstacle of all that humans have to overcome.  Was it not pride that led to the original sin in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3)?  It was the idea “and ye shall be as gods” that hooked Eve.  Didn’t that play on her pride?  It is true pride is so quickly and easily produced—seemingly without effort, struggle, or resistance.  We are proud of our achievements, proud of our children, proud of our homes, and proud of our clothes.  We are proud when we act humble and we are proud when we help others.  Notice the focus is on us rather than God when we are prideful.  To feel prideful is to believe you are actually doing something in your own strength.  This brings us back to forgetting we need God to strengthen us in order to keep us from temptation and harm.  It is actions that cause harm.  We can have feelings which in and of themselves are not harmful.  Feelings can lead to harm if we act on them.  Therefore, the strategy recommended by Shakespeare through Hamlet and by Benjamin Franklin is sound.  It is our behaviors—speaking and acting—that cause us harm.  To speak and act in a humble fashion would quickly highlight our need for God’s strength.  When we realize we need God’s strength the next step is to ask for it.  Ask for God’s strength to help you though the day today.  Admit to yourself and God that nothing is possible in your own strength.  Pray for humility the easy way (through choice) instead of the hard way (through humbling experiences).  Proverbs 16:  18 warns, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall”.  Do not allow pride to keep you from God’s purpose today.  Recognize when it is creeping up on you in small ways.  Avoid boasting, bragging, or even sharing if the focus is on you and your achievements.  Use your words and actions to humble yourself and glorify God.

Dear Lord, help me to remember today I am nothing and can do nothing without your strength.  Keep me from the evil of pride today.  Help me to call on you for strength throughout the day.  Help me resist pride—help me to speak and act in a humble manner in order to better serve you. I ask in the name of Jesus, Amen.