STRENGTH IN THE HEART (3)

“Be of good courage, and He shall STRENGTHEN YOUR HEART, all you who HOPE in the LORD” – Psalm 31:24

Hope in the LORD is a vital key for receiving Good Courage and STRENGTH in the HEART: “Be of good courage, and He shall STRENGTHEN YOUR HEART, all you who HOPE in the LORD” (Psa.31:24). This heart-uplifting scripture gives us a glimpse as to how we can find the strength to face tough times, challenges, and adversities in life. To hope in the Lord is to receive His Strength! God is requesting that we recognize where our strength is; that we acknowledge Him as our Source of Grace. We cannot find joy, peace, or strength apart from God. We cannot look within ourselves as the source. Our hope must be “IN THE LORD”! The Psalmist says of the LORD: “You are my God. My times are in Your hand” (v.15b); “You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues” (v.20). That’s Strength in the heart!

There is Strength to be found in the LORD, not because we are awesome, capable, or in control, but because He is. Our Lord is the One Who assured Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” So, Paul could say: “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2Cor.12:9). Despite the awareness of our weakness, God meets us by His strength and grace. He fills in all the places we lack, holds us up and strengthens us. Our Lord tells us in John 16:33, He has overcome the world; therefore we can find peace and draw our strength from His Victory on the cross.

Fixing our eyes on God and trusting Him and His Word fills our hearts with Hope and Strength.  God has promised to always be with us and His Holy Spirit is nearer than our very breath. We don’t have to try to carnally muster up the courage to be bold for Christ because as believers, we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit who empowers us to witness to the truth and fills our hearts with the love of God to share with the world. Let’s give praise to God for His abundant mercy and power lavished on us through His Holy Spirit. The enemy has no chance because God is greater than all the schemes hell can throw at us. God is not only with us always, but He has also given us spiritual armour to stand, face, and overcome the enemy (Eph.6:12-18).  

We can rest in Faith, knowing that God is sovereign over every battle and every resistance we may face (Heb.4:1). We need not try to find strength in our own abilities? We must not place our trust or hope in other things or people thinking they will bring us peace and joy. Whoever finds himself looking to other people or things outside of Christ as the source of peace, hope, joy, or strength, must take time to repent and re-fix his or her gaze upon God once again. He or she should ask the Holy Spirit for help to lean upon God and His Word. True strength is found in trusting in the Lord. He holds the whole world in His hands, including each of our lives.

The story of God’s people is one of His Strength being exchanged for our weakness. He takes the sins, fears, and feebleness in our lives and uses them as opportunities to demonstrate the awesome power of His love. He takes those the world deems to be the weakest and uses them to do powerful works: “He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isa.40: 29-31).