My word study on
strength has been much more interesting than the last couple of words that I
studies. I've included comments on a few
of the verses and then I will give you a summary at the end.
Exodus 13:3(NKJV)
And Moses said to
the people: “Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house
of bondage; for by
strength of hand the Lord brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.
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This "strength
of hand" phrase was used 3 times in a very few verses. I'm not sure about the "of hand"
part but I do note that it was the strength of God, not the weakness of God,
that brought them out of Egypt.
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Exodus 15:2(NKJV)
The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
He is my
God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will
exalt Him.
1 Samuel 2:9(NKJV)
He
will guard the feet of His saints, But the wicked shall
be silent in darkness. “For by strength no man shall prevail.
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In other words no
man's strength is a match for God's strength.
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1 Samuel 2:10(NKJV)
The
adversaries of the Lord shall be broken in pieces;
From heaven He will thunder against them.
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth.
“He
will give strength to His king, And exalt the
horn of His anointed.”
2 Samuel 22:3(NKJV)
The God of my strength,
in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my
salvation, My stronghold and my refuge;
My Savior, You save me from violence.
2 Samuel 22:33(NKJV)
2 Samuel 22:40(NKJV)
For You have armed
me with strength for the battle; You have
subdued under me those who rose against me.
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For those who think
Jesus (and by extension God) are pacifists; arming your people with strength
for the battle would seem to be an odd thing for a pacifist to do wouldn't
it?
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Job 9:4(NKJV)
God is wise in heart and
mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?
Psalms 8:2(NKJV)
Out
of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength,
Because of Your enemies, That
You may silence the enemy and the avenger.
Psalms 18:32(NKJV)
It is God who arms me with strength,
And makes my way perfect.
Psalms 27:1(NKJV)
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
Isaiah 26:4(NKJV)
Trust
in the Lord forever, For in YAH, the Lord, is everlasting strength.
Isaiah 33:6(NKJV)
Wisdom
and knowledge will be the stability of your times, And the strength of salvation;
The fear of the Lord is His treasure.
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This one is
interesting. We think of strength in the
physical sense but look what this verse says.
What gives us the "strength of salvation"? Wisdom and knowledge!
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Isaiah 40:9(NKJV)
O
Zion, You who bring good tidings,
Get up into the high mountain;
O Jerusalem, You who bring good
tidings, Lift up your voice with strength,
Lift it up,
be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your
God!”
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Notice it doesn't
say quietly whisper about God. It says
lift up your voice with strength.
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Isaiah 40:31(NKJV)
But
those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
Lamentations 1:14(NKJV)
“The
yoke of my transgressions was bound; They were
woven together by His hands, And thrust upon my neck. He made my strength fail;
The Lord delivered me into the hands of those whom I am not able to withstand.
Joel 2:22(NKJV)
Do
not be afraid, you beasts of the field; For the open
pastures are springing up, And the tree bears its
fruit; The fig tree and the vine yield their strength.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10(NKJV)
And lest I should be
exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh
was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above
measure.
Concerning this
thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
And He said to
me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of
Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take
pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in
distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
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OK, here are some of
my observations. Man can get strength
from two places. He can draw upon his
own strength or he can draw on God for his strength.
Man's strength can
fail. Think of the phrase "end of
my rope". God's strength on the
other hand can be renewed. Just when we
think we have reached "the end of our rope" if we call upon God we
can feel our strength being renewed.
What we thought was the end of our rope was actually just a quick rest
before drawing on God's strength as we surge to victory.
And lastly it is
important that we acknowledge that our strength comes from God and that we give
Him all the credit for that strength and what we do with it. As Paul said God's strength is made that much
more impressive when we allow it to shine through our weaknesses.
So draw on God for
your strength and make sure you praise Him and give Him all the credit for your
strength!
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