Page 6 - MyFaith Mag August 2016

FAITH LIFE
I nfu se d W it h I n n e r S t re n g t h
It doesn’t take much for people to find reason
to fear in today’s world. There is precious little
hope and security for anyone’s future when you
see the trouble governments all over the world,
are in. We live in dangerous and uncertain times
and it is affecting people everywhere, from every
walk of life. Where do people find the strength
to keep fortified and purposeful while the world
around them is falling apart?
I believe a good place to start, is to realize and
identify our enemy and strategically make a pur-
poseful stand against it. Its name is fear and it is
the enemy of our souls. As children of God, in
this world, we have to deliberately stand against
fear in our lives. It is a powerful, destructive force The word “quicken” is the Greek word zoopoieo,
that will paralyse our faith and destroy all hope
in us, should we give it any place. Dwelling on
the negativity around us, until it becomes more
dominant than the promises of God, will cause
fear to overwhelm our thoughts, and allow de-
spair to overpower us.
The wonderful news is, as children of God, we
don’t have to be a part of the fearful! We don’t
have to fret and lose sleep. Anxiety over our fu-
ture and that of our children, does not have to
enter our hearts or minds.
The apostle Paul knew all about the fight against
fear and its destructive forces. I believe he be-
came a first class soldier in his stand to oppose
it. Paul understood how to live courageously and
in Devine peace, in the midst of extreme pressure
and trouble. One of my favourite scriptures is
found in Philippians 4:13, when he declared what
kept him in a place of supernatural victory, no
matter how fearsome the turmoil around him or
the attack against him. He said, “I have strength
for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I
am ready for anything and equal to anything
through Him Who infuses inner strength into
me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].”
(Amplified)
So what is this inner strength that infused Paul
and caused him to overcome fear and remain
strong and purposeful in his life? Well, the scrip-
ture makes it pretty clear that Paul received su-
pernatural, inner strength from being in Christ Je-
sus. Because the Spirit of God is alive and strong
in every believer, His glorious overcoming power
is alive in us too.
The power of God residing in every born again
believer is an explosive power and it is demon-
strated in our lives by a mighty supernatural in-
ner strength. The very same strength Paul was
speaking about in Philippians 4:13. In fact, Paul
6 | AUGUST 2016
speaks about this power that produces inner
strength, when he instructs us to be, “...strong in
the Lord...” while we battle against fear and over-
come it (Ephesians 6:10).
This strength producing power of God, residing in
every believer, has the ability to supercharge us
and fortify us from the inside, and has a remark-
able effect on every area of our lives. Just like Ro- and calling His disciples, walked towards the very
mans 8:11 says: “But if the Spirit of him that raised purpose that he was shrinking from moments
up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he that
raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken
your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in
you.”
from the word zoe and poieo. The word zoe is
the Greek word for life, and it often describes the
life of God. The word poieo means to do. When
these two words are compounded together, it
means to make alive with life. It carries the idea
to revitalize, to rejuvenate, or to refresh with new
life!
This same inner strength had a profound effect
on the life of Jesus, when He was facing extreme
despair in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was
faced with the reality of having to suffer for the
sins of mankind in the most brutal, painful and
shameful way and He would have to do it alone.
The emotional pressure and strain caused His hu-
man strength and hope to drain from Him and He
began to sweat blood. Then, in Luke 22:43, we
read how an angel from heaven appeared and
strengthened Him.
That word strengthened comes from a Greek
word, enischuo. This is a compound of the words
en and ischuos. The word en means in, and the
word ischuos is the word for might or strength.
Compounded together, the new word means to
impart strength; to empower someone; to fill a
person with heartiness; or to give someone a re-
newed vitality. A person may have been feeling
exhausted and depleted, but he suddenly gets a
blast of energy so robust that he is instantly re-
charged! Now he is ready to get up, get with it,
and get going again! Enischuos power/ strength
reminds us of our purpose.
Now, since the power of God already resided in
Jesus, we know the Angel didn’t give Jesus that
strength, instead, he must have said something to
Jesus to cause that inner strength to be activated
and rise up strong from the power inside of Him.
I believe that Angel must have reminded Jesus of
His purpose! Could it be that Jesus’ mind was so
distracted and overwhelmed by the pressure of
what He would have to endure without His Fa-
BY JENNY ROEBERT
ther’s presence, that He lost focus of the promise
of victory that was already proclaimed over Him?
And when He was reminded of that victory, that
power of God that was alive inside of Him, rose
up strong and began to recharge and rejuvenate
His Spirit and quicken His mind and body. I can
just imagine how He must have stood up, strong
and purposeful, shaking off his discouragement
before.
Then, when the temple guards and Pharisees
came to arrest Him, and asked which one was Je-
sus. The Bible describes how, with a sure strength
of conviction, Jesus deliberately declared, “I am
He”. At the mention of His words, that demon-
strative power of God that was activated and alive
inside of Him, came forth from those words with
such force that the entire army of men fell flat on
their backs.
Because of the mighty inner strength that was
pulsating through Him, from the power of God,
alive in His Spirit; Jesus made it very clear that no
person, army or principality, would ever have the
power to take His life from Him. Rather, it was
by His own will to obey His Father and lay His life
down for mankind, that would cause Him to die
on purpose that day. His love and devotion for
His Father and each one of us, caused a joyful
strength to rise up and fortify Him every step to
the cross. Mighty, inner strength had overpow-
ered despair that day, as purpose overshadowed
fear.
Just the same, each child of God, has within us the
power of God that produces the inner strength
to rejuvenate, endure and victoriously overcome
anything we face in this life.
When God’s promises of purpose dominate our
thinking, they overshadow all fear and activate
the power of God inside us to rise up and infuse
us with inner strength. So that we too, like Paul,
can say, “I have strength for all things in Christ
Who empowers me [I am ready for anything
and equal to anything through Him Who infuses
inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in
Christ’s sufficiency].” (Amplified)
ANDRÉ AND JENNY ROEBERT are the pastors and co-
founders of River Ministries situated in East
London, South Africa, incorporating various minis-
tries, each geared to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ
around the nations of this world.
For more info visit: myriver.com
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