Real Strength

Real strength

1 Chronicles 29:12 "Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone.”

If you want to stay away from stress, strain and pain then you are missing out on real strength, are you hearing me? Escapism is for cowards but the real challenge is to stay and face the problem.. Be it church ministry, business, college, new project, new job, marriage, relationships, children….whatever, God is able to get you through. Real strength! I am not talking about muscle power, gym power, street smart, energy drink power, sharp acumen, I am talking about ‘strength’ that you receive from going through sufferings, agony, sickness and emotional strain. This message is not for the feeble in heart, if you want to get strong, steady and sturdy then continue to read…..

In the opening lines of 1 Chronicles chapter 29, King David said “ my son Solomon is young and inexperienced’, yet, he goes on to say in verse 12 that the powerful God would give his son Solomon ‘real strength’ to finish the work. David said, ‘you hand is power and might!’ When you have this knowledge, then you can boldly move forward in life. Glory to Jesus! With five rupees in my pocket I travelled out of the city without even money for the transport from the railway station to the venue of meeting; nevertheless, my needs were met step by step as God sent people to pick me up but I had to keep up my faith. After I received my first offering, I transferred it to my home since our kitty was empty. I would not be able to write this piece on ‘real strength’ if I had not been bold to travel with a five rupee coin. Today people want to read ten steps to success and ape the guidelines of someone else, not so friend, this is no magic, we got to go through the process of grinding if you want greatness. Anybody there?

I have had two major operations, after every operation though the doctors had recommended for 6 months rest, God had raised me from the bed within three months and made me run again, this is not for everyone though, don’t try it, when God picks you from the bed then with it comes the energy and stamina too. Glory to Jesus! Hey Beautiful, don’t stay in the bed for too long, get up and move on, I am speaking to someone who feels very low. Real strength comes from God !

STRENGTH IN THE MIDST OF SUFFERING: Romans 8:26 “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words..” Did you observe the words, ‘too deep for words..?” Hey friend, in our weakness when we know not what to pray, the Holy Spirit helps us. Hallelujah!

When the pastor of 5 daughters died in an accident it was a huge shock but after a couple of years, we heard that the daughters were all part of the choir team in the church and were worship leaders. Amazing! Tragedy cannot kill a child of God, but in fact it would build! The first patient I had gone for prayer after my amazing salvation experience was a fourth degree cancer patient. I enthusiastically went to the hospital, shared my healing experience and also my encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ, from that day onwards, she stopped complaining and mourning but started glorifying God. She told her teenaged son, ‘I am going to Jesus so don’t worry about me’, when she died the husband called me midnight to give me the news and said, ‘ my son told me to call you and give you the news.’ Afflictions cannot destroy you because you know you have a MANSION prepared for you, is anybody listening to me?

STRENGTH TO CARRY THE LOAD: Few years back, I felt helpless and frustrated when the workers suddenly did not turn up during a camp meeting, the cook refused to do the cleaning and the food had to be served to the people. Though believers were present in the campsite, none came forward to help , everything got me upset and exasperated. My daughter said, ‘God is preparing you for a greater project’, rightly now even if the workers do not turn up, I do not close school, the fire is lit up and the food is served. Glory to Jesus! Way back, I paid two thousand rupees for the cook per day, today it has become my norm to cook for 100 people everyday, this is called REAL STRENGTH.