Written By: Igor Tsymbalyuk
“Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” Deuteronomy 31:6 KJV
Be strong. The first thing that comes to mind is an image of a man with large arms, legs, and muscles. Compare this image to a scrawny, thin, small person and we would easily decribe the latter as someone with little physical strength.
We understand that to enjoy life one needs to be healthy and strong. Certain factors determine this: diet, exercise, medical conditions, etc. There are people who attend to their healthy very carefully while others disregard it and suffer the consequences. Many millions of dollars a year are spent by people seeking to improve their health or to maintain it. Having the correct diet, personal hygiene, and daily exercise are things you should be doing to be healthy and strong.
But, what about inner spiritual strength? What does it look like? And how do you get it?
As with any fitness plan, you will find that if you do not carefully monitor your calory intake (mind you, not just any calories) and do not regularly exercise, your body will start gaining fat and your muscle mass will decrease. The same story goes for inner spiritual strength. Eating correct spiritual material and exercising your mind on a regular basis will build and cultivate inner strength.
Inner strength is gained through life experience. In life, we face problems, challenges, stress, temptations, sickness, happiness, and all kinds of issues of life. For example, a child that lost one of their parents at an early age faces problems that a child with both parents doesn’t.
Inner strength ties in with courage. When I think of courage, I think about somebody who does or did something heroic. A firefighter rushing into a fire to save a victim, a husband shielding his wife from danger, standing up against a bully, speaking in front a large audience. All these things take something called courage. It is doing that which requires bravery, love, and fearlessness.
Are you one of those people who are afraid of the dark? I hope not. Fear makes us scared and I know few people who love fear. Some people have no sense of fear or do not evaluate risk correctly but everybody knows the feeling of fear. Sometimes that fear can be traced back to an event or period of life that caused great stress and was instilled deep into memory. These memories can come back in later periods of life to haunt and instill fear.
What are you afraid of and how do you cope with those fears? There are many answers to this question. The one I want to present to you today is to lean on Jesus. The Gospel tells us about Jesus, Son of God, who said “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” John 10:11 KJV. Sheep are guided and taken care of by a shepard. When they fall ill or have trouble, the shepard carries them. When they get lost, the shepard finds them and carries them back home. Jesus is our Shepard. In times when we feel sick and don’t have enough strength, in times where we have no courage to face the difficulties of life, or have fear in lives, Jesus is the Sherpard who can and will help you.
Start your day by praying and meditating on the Word of God to build inner strength, learn to face the challenges of life and build courage, and last of all cast your fears upon Jesus. Let’s say with David: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalms 27:1 KJV
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Isaiah 41:10 KJV
“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” Joshua 1:9 KJV
“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7 KJV