Strength and Power
Verse of the Day
‘Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.’
Today’s Devotional
Power. Strength.
Do you have enough?
Do you know where strength comes from?
Let’s start by understanding what these words mean. Power is “the ability to act or produce an effect”. Strength is “ the capacity for exertion or endurance; the ability to resist force or attack”.
First, let me confess that those definitions do not quite capture (for me) the meaning of strength and power. But let’s look again at today’s verse. God created. Out of the nothingness, God made this world and everything in it.
God is the source of all strength and power. Strength is one of the many praiseworthy attributes of God. By God’s power the sun rose today. By God’s power your lungs just filled with air.
Strength is one of the things that I long for. It’s something that I admire in others. But strength must be used wisely to be admirable. According to today’s verse, God never grows weak or weary. But if we look at the creation story, we know that God rested on the seventh day. Did He rest because He was tired? Not according to scripture.
‘On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.’
God rested because He had finished the work of creation. It’s my opinion that He also rested to set a good example for His created beings. We need rest. Perhaps the proper use of strength is knowing when to rest.
I tend to look at people in my life who have the kind of strength that I admire. I think that may be a mistake. If I want to see strength that is wisely used, I need to look no further than God Himself. He made this world. He made each one of us. He parted the Red Sea. He provided a way for us to be reconciled with Him.
If I want more strength in my life, then I need to look first to God, the source of all strength. And before I start asking for God to give me strength, I need to bow before Him in awe and worship because of His strength. He is mighty. And He is worthy of our praise.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
Who is the strongest person you know? Why do you think they are strong?
How do you rate yourself in strength and power?
What is something powerful that God has done for you personally?
How can you worship the God of all power today?