Living With Purpose by Matt Dobson
What motivates you to get up each morning and face the new day? Is it because someone needs you? Is it the fact with each new day you’re one step closer to the weekend? Maybe it’s the joy you find in your job. Do you find it’s easy to start the day, but soon you become more tired than you should be? Or do you find from the moment your feet hit the floor there’s no vitality to be found. Millions of people start their day with drudgery and a negative outlook because of their physical and emotional states. Other people go through life with the motto: “I’m working for the weekend…just get me to Friday and I can fall over into Saturday.” I’ll be the first to say that breaks are a God-send and everyone can benefit from some time away. Jesus himself, often got away from the crowds and went into the mountains for periods of prayer and a renewal of spirit. We would do ourselves a lot of good to find time for ourselves, no matter how brief it may be.
Even when breaks or vacations are not possible, we can still experience strength for each day. If there’s one thing God wants to give you, its strength to accomplish His will. God throughout history has always wanted this for His children. Take Moses for example. His great task was to lead the children of Israel. Left to himself his strength and abilities were limited. Moses relied on God’s strength for himself and his people. Moses’ final blessing for Israel before his death is recorded in Deuteronomy 33:25 where he says, “The bolts of your gates will be iron and bronze and your strength will equal your days.” This blessing can be your blessing. Protection for your family, energy for your work, knowledge for your school projects, and performance for sports activities can all be found in the relationship you have with your Heavenly Father. God, in all His generosity, wants you to be strong and enjoy all the good things of earth (Phil. 4:19). That’s why He sent His Son Jesus to wash away the sins of the world. This way we don’t have to go through life working for our salvation. A person can work themselves to death trying to make it to heaven. It’s not about work, it’s about the relationship. Accept the free gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9) and you gain access to the greatest power source of all-time—God Himself.
I believe the best health strategy that gives vitality and stamina for everyday is a combination of prayer, faith, and positive thinking. Declining strength, energy, and motivation is usually the direct result of fear, anxiety, tension, resentment, guilt, or a combination of all of them. But we can take heart, there’s hope for us all. Prayer and the therapy of the Bible can have an important effect. You can gain strength through prayer to God (Matt. 21:22). Prayer is the Christian’s lifeline. Ignore prayer and you ignore life’s greatest resource. Through prayer we communicate and fellowship with God. Set time aside each day and invite His presence to cover you. Repeatedly we are told in God’s Word to make our requests known to Him (Phil. 4:6). If a person would just learn to improve their prayer life or start a daily prayer time there would be dramatic changes in attitudes and perspectives about life.
Secondly, strength is gained through the promises of the “Master Promise Keeper”. I’ve found Scripture to be highly motivating to the psyche and when the mind thinks it can do something, the body is soon to follow. Some lack strength because they neglect the promises. Seek out the promises of the Bible that fit your needs—remember them, write them down, recall them often, and by all means claim them as your own. How can you benefit from the promises of God if you don’t know them or claim them? 2 Peter 1:4 says God gives great and precious promises, so that through them we may have strength like Christ and escape the corruption of the world caused by evil. The world will drain the life out of you…if you let it.
Your orders are to stand strong, be a person of conviction and power and know there is real strength in your abilities and performance. The Bible says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). Christians and anyone that honors God by pursuing Him will never lack for any good thing (Psalm 34:10). People crawl through the week in search of strength and energy because they are too involved with their own interests. Who has time for God? Those who know Him, run to Him and are blessed beyond all measure. For its God who promises “power to the faint and to them who have no might, He increases strength” (Isaiah 40:29). It’s been said it takes a strong person to admit they are wrong. My friends, we must admit we need the Lord!
Every one of us will gain new and everlasting strength by acknowledging our need and praising Him. Praise encourages a positive attitude and lifts our sagging spirits. Prayer to God, promises of God, performance for God, and praise to God are the keys to unlocking power and strength for all of your days. Try these things this week by choosing to go to church on Sunday and let it become a weekly “pep rally” for your soul. Strength for every day, because you followed God’s way.
- This weekly column is written by Matthew Dobson. A graduate of Florida State University, University of West Florida, and Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, he is Pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church in Jay, Florida. Matthew can be reached by email: rmdobson@liberty.edu. He welcomes your thoughts and questions concerning faith, belief, and Christian living. Visit the Living With Purpose website at www.living-with-purpose.org.
