Strength from God during Challenging Times.Psalm 68:35: SIFA CHURCH

God wants to strengthen you. The purpose of God is to make you stronger each day you choose to walk with Him. This is a message on how you can truly live in God’s strength. God wants you to have a deep assurance that His plan is to strengthen you, no matter what the circumstances.

In these days it is a great secret to know the strength of the Lord. This strength comes to those who desire to follow after Christ. This makes it so important to walk in faith, and forsake the things that would block God's presence in your life. By confessing and turning away from any sin, the door opens for God's cleansing grace to wash through you, restoring the strength of God in your life.

Strength from the Lord. “How blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee." Psalm 84:5.
 Strength is power for living, is needed by everyone in these challenging times. And God wants to give you His strength, in an abundant supply. Please note that God's ways are higher than man's ways, and God's thoughts are higher than man's thoughts according to Isaiah 55:8&9).

This is without a doubt true, when it comes to the strength of the Lord. God's ways of strengthening you are different than man's ways. God's purpose is to make you strong. The bible says the; "He is the One who gives power and strength to his people." (Psalm 68:35). God's purpose is to strengthen you, and to give you power in His ways.

The bible has commanded us, "Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might!" (Ephesians 6:10). God wants you to be strong. Strong in Him, strong in love, strong because you are filled with the Holy Spirit. You must have an unshakable confidence, that God's purpose is to make you strong in Him. When you face situations which you don't understand, or when you encounter obstacles, difficulties, or painful situations which you were not expecting, it is easy for you to lose sight of God's purposes. God's thoughts are not like our thoughts. Our thoughts can become thoughts of fear or discouragement, anger or frustration.

Thoughts like: "I'll never be able to get through this," or, "God must be punishing me for something I've done," or, "The Lord is against me," can become a part of our thinking. But God's thought is to make you strong! His will is to make you stronger, not to tear you down. You must become strong in the ways of the Lord. "The way of the Lord is strength to the upright."Prov.10:29.

Seven pointers on receiving assurance of God’s strength.

1. WAIT ON THE LORD. Isaiah 40:31, You need to spend time waiting before the Lord, thanking Him and honoring Him, and placing your situations in His hands; you need to spend significant, quality time with Him. The Spirit will surely come like the wind, to strengthen you.

 2. CALL ON THE LORD, in earnest and believing prayer: Psalm 138:3

 3. BELIEVE that it is undoubtedly God's purpose to impart strength to you, and to make you strong, no matter what the situation may look like. God's promises are clear, that the will of the Lord is to strengthen you Psalm 105:4, Isaiah 30:15.

 4. You must TURN FROM SIN, to be strengthened by the Lord. Sin is what can make you weak. The Psalmist said, "My strength has failed because of my iniquity." Psalm 31:10 NASB. You must turn from sin, and receive cleansing and forgiveness through the blood of Christ. God will help you to make a fresh start, and to leave the past behind.

5.DRAW NEAR TO THE LORD. It is the Lord Himself who is your strength. Drawing near to Him insures that His strength will dwell in you, because His presence will be near you and in you.

6.BE OF GOOD COURAGE. The Word of God says, "Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart." (Ps.27:14 KJV). If you have courage, God is able to strengthen you. You must have courage and faith when you draw near to God, knowing that it is His will to strengthen you, and to clear a path for you

7.The WORD OF GOD strengthens your faith, and builds you up. The Word of God can be relied upon, with confidence. "Strengthen me, according to Thy Word." Psalm 119:28. Meditate on, and rely upon, the Word of God. Saturate your mind and your spirit with the Word, and the promises of the Word, for your strengthening.

Conclusion

As you do these things, God will impart His strength on you. You will be strengthened to walk in victory, and walk in faith. God will show himself strong on your behalf.

Being strong as a follower of Christ does not mean pushing other people around, dominating other people, or being otherwise obnoxious. Strength from the Lord makes you strong enough to love people, strong enough to be gentle with difficult people, strong enough to do the right things at the right times, with the peace of God in your heart. It is awesome, to have the strength of His love! We must remember that the strength of love is the opposite of the strength of selfishness.

At times God's people can begin to drift, and begin to think along on their own strength. We can gradually begin to do things in our own strength, and not even realize that we are no longer walking in the strength of the Lord. That is why we must seek fresh strength from the Lord day by day and week by week.
We must seek fresh strength in prayer, the Word, and waiting upon the Lord. God's purpose is that we help others to find that same strength. When brothers or sisters in Christ, or others we love are passing through a difficult time, they need someone who can help them find strength from the Lord.

We are to pray for one another, and bear one another's burdens. Then God will use us as His instruments, to bring His strength to those who need it.