“I pray that the eyes of your hearts may be enlightened in order that you might know…his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength exerted when he raised Christ from the dead” (Eph. 1:18-19 NIV).
A quick Bible Gateway search of the phrase “be strong” yields about 33 results in the NIV translation. When we encounter a command like this in Scripture, I think our natural human response is to muster up as much strength as we can find within ourselves for the task. However, what we find in Scripture is that about half the time the command to “be strong” is given, it is directly connected to the power of God or to what God will do.
For example, in Joshua 1, Joshua is commanded to “Be strong and courageous… for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Jos. 1:9). In 1 Chronicles, as David hands over the plans for the temple to his son Solomon, he commands him to “Be strong and courageous and do the work…for the Lord God, my God, is with you” (1 Chron. 28:20). In 2 Chronicles, King Hezekiah is facing a threat from the Assyrians. He encourages his people with this command: “Be strong and courageous… for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles” (2 Chron. 32:7-8).
We are commanded to operate in the power of the Lord.
In the New Testament, we find the command to “be strong” most notably in Ephesians 6:10: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” We need to “be strong” because we have an enemy we are commanded to stand against (Eph. 6:11). But we are not commanded to operate in all the human strength we can muster; We are commanded to operate in the power of the Lord. Peter writes it this way in his second letter: “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life” (2 Pet. 1:3).
In addition to pastoring, I also run an electrical contracting business. My electrician brain visualizes this connection between the command to “be strong” and the source of that strength—God—in this way. What we are commanded to do is like a lamp. In Ephesians, Paul commands believers to “stand” against the devil. Peter calls believers to live “a godly life.” We are told that the source of the power to carry out these commands is God. It is “his divine power” (2 Pet. 1:3). God is like the receptacle in your wall that you plug things into.
Here’s the problem: Far too often, as believers, we are trying to turn on the lamp without plugging the lamp cord into the receptacle. Then we wonder why the lamp isn’t turning on. It isn’t connected to the power source. The same is true for us as followers of Christ. We find ourselves struggling to stand firm against the devil and his schemes. We give in to temptation and sin. We want to live a godly life, but we are like unplugged lamps, disconnected from the power we need to stand.
So, how do we get plugged into His power? I want to offer three ways, from Peter and Paul, for us to get connected to His power. First, Peter tells us it is “through our knowledge of him” (2 Pet. 1:3). Secondly, Paul says in Ephesians 3:17 that it is by “being rooted.” What are roots? Roots are a plant’s connection to the ground. They provide the plant with what it needs to live and grow. In the same way, we need to be rooted in Christ so that we remain connected to our source of life and strength. Finally, we get connected to God as our source of strength “through his Spirit” (Eph. 3:16).
His power is able to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Eph. 3:20). Believers, stop living like unplugged lamps. Get plugged into the Lord and let His power work through you!
Photo credit: Rosedale Network of Churches
