He ran in the strength of the Lord

The murders of little school children in Connecticut and the ongoing wars that bring death and destruction to innocents in dusty corners of Syria and Afghanistan filled the news with nothing but despair. Beside these things, there is the spiritual apathy that lays over the land like a dense morning fog. Many who claim to be disciples of Christ are slack in commitment to His work, careless about personal holiness; their Bibles never open from day to day, their prayers childish petitions for trinkets and pleasure, if they pray at all. Because of it all, I confess to being weary in doing good! It's a kind of tired not related to physical work, but even more taxing. The Psalmist's complaint became my prayer: "How long will the wicked, O LORD, how long will the wicked be jubilant? They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting." (Psalm 94:3-4, NIV)

Today I opened my Bible to the story of a man who took up the call of God to speak to a nation that was full of idolatry, to a people who knew better, but who chased after lesser gods than the God who loved them. Elijah's great victory on Mt. Carmel, in which he saw the fire of God fall from the heavens to burn up the sacrifice in answer to his prayers, was truly amazing. Then, he went to prayer again, seven times asking God to break the drought and send rain on Israel. Finally, a tiny cloud appeared, which was all he needed. He told King Ahab to get back to his palace before the rain fell and then we read this: "And God strengthened Elijah mightily. Pulling up his robe and tying it around his waist, Elijah ran in front of Ahab's chariot until they reached Jezreel." (1 Kings 18:46, The Message) After a long day of spiritual confrontation, Elijah ran about 25 miles!

The Spirit whispered in that passage about His promise to be my strength (and yours!) for the challenges of this day. If we look to our own meager resources, the darkness of the world around us will tempt us to retreat from the struggle. When we see the daunting power of Evil, which is both real and enduring, and compare it to our ability to bring change; we will most likely want to abandon the field. Again and again, the Bible's lessons remind us that His equips the faithful so that they can prevail against sin and evil. Joshua obediently marched around Jericho and the walls fell down. David, the young teen, met the champion Goliath, with a slingshot. Jesus entered the battle for the Kingdom by becoming a Man and obediently going to the Cross. Paul took up the call to take the Gospel, regarded by many as 'foolishness' to the world, and in spite of his physical frailty, saw the Church established across the Roman Empire in a single generation.

So, the question is not, "How long can you take it?"
The real question is, "Will you accept the Power provided so you will make the journey, all the way to the end?"    

There is this statement - "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." (2 Peter 1:3, NIV) When we are tired, will we look past our fatigue to His encouragement? All around us people are asking what will save us. They are looking for answers. My prayer is that my life will answer them. My prayer is that we who are people of the Spirit will avoid simplistic solutions, easy prescriptions, and blaming those victimized by Evil! Let's become Divine Warriors, full of Light and Love, fearless in the our assurance of Eternal Life; ready to die (to self and temptation, more than literally) "so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body." (2 Corinthians 4:10, NIV)

Here's the word from the Word.  

Lord, make it living Truth, your voice speaking strength to our weary souls. Amen.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward. Now he is seated in the place of highest honor beside God's throne in heaven. Think about all he endured when sinful people did such terrible things to him, so that you don't become weary and give up." (Hebrews 12:1-3, NLT)

_________

A mighty fortress is our God,

A bulwark never failing;

Our helper He, amid the flood

Of mortal ills prevailing.

For still our ancient foe

Doth seek to work us woe;

His craft and pow'r are great,

And, armed with cruel hate,

On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide,

Our striving would be losing;

Were not the right Man on our side,

The Man of God's own choosing.

Dost ask who that may be?

Christ Jesus, it is He;

Lord Sabaoth, His name,

From age to age the same,

And He must win the battle.

And tho' this world, with devils filled,

Should threaten to undo us,

We will not fear, for God hath willed

His truth to triumph thro' us.

The Prince of Darkness grim-

We tremble not for him;

His rage we can endure,

For lo, his doom is sure,

One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly pow'rs,

No thanks to them, abideth;

The Spirit and the gifts are ours

Thro' Him who with us sideth.

Let goods and kindred go,

This mortal life also;

The body they may kill:

God's truth abideth still,

His kingdom is forever.

A Mighty Fortress

Martin Luther