BE STRONG
God has always wanted His people to be strong. While humans often put a lot of stock in pursuing bodily strength, financial power, and military might, the Lord’s emphasis is on His children being strong spiritually.
Shortly before his death, as he was helping the Israelites to prepare to enter the land of Canaan, “Then Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel . . . Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:16). Moses wanted the children of Israel to know that their strength and courage would come from the One who would not forsake them.
In that same setting, Moses also gave a personal charge to Joshua, who was chosen by Jehovah to replace Moses as Israel’s leader. “Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, ‘Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them ...’” (Deuteronomy 31:7). The Lord wanted the whole nation to be strong, and that would start with its leadership, namely Joshua, being strong.
After Moses passed, the Lord appeared to Joshua to encourage him and remind him about the task ahead, which was to lead the Israelites into Canaan and then lead them in conquering the land. For such tasks, Joshua would need to be strong. Three times God called on him to be strong: “Be strong and of good courage . . . be strong and very courageous . . . Be strong and of good courage” (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9). At the same time, God promised Joshua, “…do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). In the Old Testament, we often see the thought of “be strong” coupled with “do not fear.”
Many centuries later, after some of the Jews returned to Judah from Babylonian captivity, they began to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. They did so under the leadership of Zerubbabel and a different Joshua. Here is a portion of what the Lord told them through His prophet Haggai : “Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel, says the LORD; and be strong, Joshua, son of Johozadak, the high priest; and be strong all you people of the land, says the LORD, and work; for I am with you says the LORD of hosts” (Haggai 2:4). Just like we noticed in Deuteronomy 31 in the days of Moses, the clear charge recorded in Haggai 2 is for the leaders and the entire nation to be strong. When you have strong leadership and strong followship, great things can happen!
Let us now consider some New Testament instructions about being strong. First, there is mention of the faith of Abraham as he waited for God to fulfill promises which He had made to him. During that process, “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith (‘strong in faith,’ KJV), giving glory to God” (Romans 4:20). This statement shows us the connection between strength and the right kind of faith. No one is strong spiritually without being strong in faith.
The Holy Spirit’s charge to every member of the church in Corinth was, “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13). The same apostle told the saints in Ephesus, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10). From the context of that statement, we learn that a key to being strong is to put on the whole armor of God (6:11-18). A personal message for Timothy was, “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:1). When we combine the New Testament passages which we have observed, what do we see? When one is strong spiritually in the sight of the Lord, he is brave, strong in the Lord, strong in grace, and strong in faith. We grow stronger when we study and meditate on God’s word (1 Peter 2:2). We grow stronger when we draw near to God in prayer (James 4:8; Hebrews 4:16). And, we are made stronger when we associate closely with loyal servants of the Lord and feed off of their commitment and faith (1 Samuel 23:16).
In the church today, we need members who are strong in Bible knowledge (2 Peter 3:18). We need folks who are strong in their convictions about the Lord and His truth (2 Timothy 1:12). We need brothers and sisters whose faith remains strong when they see others struggling (Romans 4:20). We need to remain strong when others try to persuade us to go against God’s revealed truth (Galatians 2:4, 5). We need to be strong in standing up for what is right and opposing what is wrong (Galatians 2:11-14). We need to be strong when life is going well and remain strong when we face adversity and pain (Acts 20:22-24). Be strong!
