Ephesians 3:16 That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man.
Strength in the inner man is important for everyone to have. This is the value: When we look at the opening scripture, it’s obvious that when God is talking about riches, they are not just material. The prayer was that God would grant us strength in our inner man according to the riches of His glory. There are various dimensions of the riches of God’s glory, and inner strength is one of them. It’s an asset worth acquiring. The strength of our spirit is what sustains us. When your spirit man is quickened, it’s a blessing because even physical life is empowered through that.
For instance, for people who try to commit suicide or actually do, you’d realize they were depressed and felt hopeless because of a challenge or two they were facing. Proverbs 18:14 says that “The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity, but a wounded spirit who can bear?” A crushed spirit weakens you even physically. The spiritual affects the physical because life is more spiritual than physical. In fact, things happen first in the spiritual and then manifest physically. As a result, having the spirit of man strengthened is crucial.
There are certain challenges you can’t pray out of your life. You can only pray for grace and strength to sail through. Summarising 2 Cor. 12:7-9, Paul said he was given a thorn in the flesh so he will not be arrogant. He pleaded with the Lord to take it away, but God told him: My grace is sufficient for you, My strength is made perfect in weakness.
Proverbs 24:10 says, If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. Your strength as a Christian would surely be tested. There’s no doubt about that. That’s why we need a top-up of strength from God. In the opening scripture, Paul prayed this for the church because it was valuable to their faith.
If the victory that overcomes the world is our faith, a weakened spirit will reduce our faith level.
Consequently, a reduced faith level will lead to an unproductive Christian life because there would be no results. Remember without faith it is impossible to please God? 1 Peter 1:7a These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire- may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Our faith is tested through these trials.
The above scripture reminded me of Isaiah 43:2: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. Three elements were named here: water, river, and fire. The waters of life are not meant to drown you but rather wash you of every uncleanness within. The fires of life are not supposed to consume you but purify you. The rivers are not to overwhelm you but make you fruitful……He is like a tree planted by rivers of living water.
In Isaiah 4:4, the Bible says, “The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and fire.” The Bible says (paraphrasing) that every man’s work will be tested by fire, which would show the quality of work. The burned one would not be saved, but the one that passes through the fire purified would receive a reward. 1 Cor. 3:13-15.
This is the point: Anytime you lack strength in difficult moments and give up, it’s a sign you have been consumed by the fire or drowned by the water. But anyone who goes through with faith still intact has passed the trial of faith and has been purified by fire, washed with water. Every time I thank God, I don’t only do so for the good things that happened to me, and the times He came through for me. I also thank Him for challenges because they have made me stronger. Many of my most amazing testimonies have come from turbulent moments, and they just shot my faith up to another level.
The essence of difficult moments is to admit that we need help. Everyone has their own challenges. Secondly, God has to know if you really love Him as you claim, and thirdly, he must take out of you what would harm you and put in you what you need to become who He wants you to be. Worrying would not solve the problem. Seek peace even in the midst of challenges and pray that you survive the fire and water. This is a vital prayer to be prayed daily. Add it to your list of prayers.
Our foundation must be strong to survive the rains, storms, and winds of life so that we can be like the house built on a rock: immovable and indestructible.
Glory to God!!!
The Word In Clarity 