My Strength
“Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the LORD Almighty is their God.’”
Today’s Text: Zechariah 12:5 (Living Life Daily Devotional)
CJ and I had a refreshing and relaxing time in France (as relaxing as being a tourist can be, anyway). And as always, I need to acknowledge that having a relaxing vacation is only possible because of the love, devotion, and faithfulness of our Canvas family, especially P. Nathan and the servants. Thank you all!
We stayed mostly in Paris with friends, but we did take one overnight trip to Mont-Saint-Michel. One of the highlights of our vacation was visiting some of the cathedrals: Notre-Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, Sacre-Coeur, and the abbey at Mont-Saint-Michel. They were majestic and gorgeous—and old, some about one thousand years old.
Walking through those old cathedrals, I could not help but feel that we were walking through history. And I was powerfully reminded that history is His story, and that the church is always in the front-and-center of God’s great plan of salvation for the world in Jesus Christ.
In a odd kind of way, the majesty of those old cathedrals mock the meagerness of the state of faith in France. It is mostly a Catholic nation, of course, but only about 2% of Catholics attend mass weekly. Another study shows that only about 1.6% of the population is evangelical.
And yet, those same studies tell us that France, like the UK and the US, is experiencing something of a spiritual revival. Praise God!
But numbers don’t really mean that much. Scripture tells us over and over again what God has done (and WILL DO) with a meager remnant of the faithful.
However, I cannot help but reflect on how France got to where it is today from where it was. Maybe that is why the verse above stuck out to me today: “Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the LORD Almighty is their God.’”
It is easy for the people of God to say (out of habit) that we are “strong,” because the LORD Almighty is our God. But the sinfulness of the human heart makes us believe that we are “strong,” because we are talented and smart and skillful and well-educated and well-resourced and (hey) good-looking, too. (And, oh yeah, the lord almighty is our god.)
The sinfulness of the human heart always wants to own the strength that belongs to God alone. I believe that is what happened in France—and everywhere.
But our true strength comes only from God—when we participate in His strength. Our true strength comes only when we acknowledge our weakness—a weakness that compels us to faith and obedience only.
That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
— 2 Corinthians 12:10
Those are not just meager words. They are a life of faith.
Father, Your strength knows no bounds. How can we comprehend Your power and majesty? It is beyond our understanding. And yet You call us into Your strength. Help me, help us, to experience Your power in our weakness. Teach us not to lay claim to what belongs to You alone. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
