All Your works shall give thanks to You, O LORD, and all Your faithful shall bless You. They shall speak of the glory of Your Kingdom, and tell of Your power, to make known to all people Your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of Your Kingdom. Your Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout all generations. The LORD is faithful in all His words, and gracious in all His deeds. The LORD upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to You and you give them their food in due season. (Psalm 145: 10-15)
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We do not know our own strength.
Have you ever playfully hit someone - or maybe received a "playful" hit - and had both actions result in a similar response:"OW! You don't know your own strength!"
Odd's are that most of you have.
In fact, in trying to give the light-hearted gesture of a "soft punch," we often miss mentally the level of exertion and strength that our bodies can produce.
In a very physical way, we all have a diminished and limited view of our own strength. That is why people can do "inhuman" things when their adrenaline is pumping. We are stronger than we think.
But I would say that this "diminished and limited view" transcends past our physical strength. In fact, I think that it also extends to our mental, emotional, and for today's purposes, spiritual lives.
You see, regarding our new life in Christ, we do not know our own strength.
Scripture says that as believers, we are residents in the Kingdom of Light. That once we became "born again," our lives were purchased and our location - though physically on earth - was eternally transferred to God's Kingdom.
And God's Kingdom is not weak.
To say that a Kingdom is weak is to say that it's King is weak. And hopefully, we know better. For God is anything but weak.
And our strong God has decided to display that strength through His people.
In fact, what God does is vividly seen through the lives of those in His Kingdom. When He redeems, He chooses to do so through and for the purpose of His people. And when God reaches out to touch lives, speaks up to bring healing, or steps in to provide justice, He powerfully uses His Kingdom as well.
That's why the psalmist wrote: "They shall speak of the glory of Your Kingdom, and tell of Your power, to make known to all people Your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of Your Kingdom. Your Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout all generations..."
What God does is expressed through us. For the Kingdom is God's work on earth. Let me say that again: We are God's work on earth.
And David writes, "all [God's] works shall give thanks and praise to [Him]."
You see, our strong God does not do weak things. He does not do mediocre work. He does not halfway attempt to redeem creation; to save souls; to heal marriages; to bring joy and peace. Instead, our strong God completes and finishes what He has started...by working through us.
So let me say it again: We do not know our own strength.
If we did, we would no longer doubt our purpose. We would no longer act in sinful weakness. We would no longer sink back in fear. We would no longer passively wait. We would no longer act half-heartedly. And we would no longer miss out on the power of being together.
We would realize - as the psalmist writes - that: "He is faithful in all of His words...The eyes of all look to You and You give them their food in due season..."
This means that every promise and commitment that God has given to us as His Kingdom will happen. That even when we feel weak, alone, tired, and stressed, the reality is that we are missing a real perspective.
We are not some small, lifeless, and weak tree in the midst of a grand dessert.
Instead, in Christ, we are called overcomers, we are promised the ability to demolish strongholds, to carry others burdens, and to do greater things than Jesus did on earth.
And our faithful God will carry out those strong promises in due season. They will come.
So today - and this weekend - realize that our God is faithful. Realize that you are a part of something strong: His Kingdom. And realize that YOU are stronger than you currently think; not in and of yourself, but in and of Christ.
Ask Him to help you overcome your diminished and limited view; to help you live as strongly as you are in reality.
What have you learned about the strength and power of God in you? We would love to hear! Feel free to leave a comment in today's Instagram post! (Instagram.com/DeclareGlory)
Blessings,
Greg, Declare Glory
