Gaining Strength In The Lord

Endurance is one of those words that athletes know all to well. The marathon runner trains as much for endurance as he does for strength in order to go the distance. The intensely accomplished weight lifter has the muscles that demonstrate that he is strong and powerful, but even his explosive muscular physique will not allow him to run the distance of the marathon. He has strength, not endurance.

God's holy word has much to say about spiritual strength and power. The Lord is always faithful with His promise that he always stands beside us and gives us strength (II Timothy 4:17).

In the middle of the writing of this article a man walked into my office. His smile was precious and the Spirit of the Lord was obviously upon him. This man had been across the street from our church since early, early that same morning waiting for someone to hire him at Labor Finders. His request of me was for a small Bible. Easy enough, I've got a lot of those. As we shared wonderful conversation in my office it was undoubtedly clear that this man had great strength from the Lord in his life. But, there was something else that I became thankfully aware of. This man's strength in the Lord had been developed so much that endurance was the spiritual discipline that was visible.

Not only did this humble broken man have great spiritually strong muscles, but his training (walk) in the Lord had developed in such a glorious way that this stranger had great endurance. The Apostle Paul hits this topic head on when he says, "Keep your head in all situations and endure hardship" (II Tim. 4:5). There are bound to be difficult times in our lives whether spiritual, physical or emotional and God's Word says to keep your head and endure in the Lord.

South Avenue Baptist church is a strong church and growing stronger by the day. South Avenue Baptist Church is a wonderful example to its members and the community of a church that continues to endure in the Lord through the years. For the next several weeks we will be focusing in our worship services on being "Strong in the Lord". My prayer is that the Lord will reveal/remind us that WE ARE A STRONG CHURCH, WE ARE A STRONG FAMILY, WE ARE A STRONG PRESENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY and that as our spiritual muscles grow stronger and as we build our endurance that the power of the Lord will be victorious in our community!

Amen! Amen

Pastor Scott