O
THE
vercoming
Developing A Strong Spirit
SERIES
‘THE STRONG SPIRIT OF A MAN WILL SUSTAIN HIM IN BODILY
PAIN OR TROUBLE’ PROVERBS 18:14.
We’re each made up of body, soul and spirit. Our spirit (inner man) is where God
comes to dwell. But that doesn’t mean we’ll automatically have a ‘strong spirit’.
No, your spirit is like your body; it must be nourished.
Do you want to develop a strong spirit?
Lord, help me
First: spend time in God’s Word. Why? Because it renews your mind and produces
to realise the
Christ-like qualities in you. Jesus knew the power of Scripture fi rst-hand. He
importance of prayer,
studied it as a boy, hid it in His heart and through it was able to overcome satan in
the need to spend
the wilderness. Your Bible will:
more time in Your
a) feed your soul. ‘When Your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my
presence and the
heart’s delight...’ (Jeremiah 15:16 NIV)
desire in my heart to
b) keep you strong in temptation: ‘How can a young man keep his way pure?
build a deeper
By living according to Your Word’ (Psalm 119:9 NIV)
relationship with
c) make you sharp: ‘The entrance of your words gives...understanding...’
You. You know
(Psalm 119:130 NKJ).
every hair on my
Second: recognise the power of prayer. Listen: ‘...He went up on a mountainside
head, Lord, and no
by Himself to pray...’ (Matthew 14:23 NIV). If Jesus needed to spend time in prayer
thought of mine is a
so do you. John Bunyan said, ‘You can do more than pray after you’ve prayed; but
secret to You. Father,
you can’t do more than pray until you’ve prayed.’ Think about that. In prayer, you
let me be a light; a
commit it all to God, otherwise whose running things? Just that thought should
symbol of hope for
bring us to our knees. Want to develop a strong spirit? One that will sustain you in
your Kingdom, in my
bodily pain or trouble? Do these two things!
family, my workplace,
my community and
my nation, in Jesus’
One Size Fits All!
name.
‘MY YOKE IS EASY, AND MY BURDEN IS LIGHT’
MATTHEW 11:30.
‘I came across
Beware of the ‘one size fi ts all’ mentality. We may all be saved by grace but we each
TheWord For have a different journey: a personal one pre-planned by God. You’ll have grace only
Today. It really for the assignment God’s given you; outside that, you’re running under your own
changed my life’
steam. When Jesus said, ‘My yoke is easy, and My burden is light’ (Matthew 11:30),
His listeners understood Him clearly. You see, they lived off the land and they knew
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that nothing was worse than an ill-fi tting yoke that constantly irritated the ox and
or visit
made the plough twice as hard to pull.
ucb.co.uk/wft
The plan of God for you will be a comfortable fi t. You won’t chafe under it and
you won’t burn out. If you do, it’s a good indication that you’re labouring under
the weight of somebody else’s expectations and not God’s! Where God guides, He
provides. With His instructions come His wisdom and His strength.
Paul writes, ‘It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good
pleasure’ (Philippians 2:13). He’ll give you: a) the desire b) the ability c) the right
conditions d) the right connections. Need a little more assurance? ‘I will instruct
you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.’
(Psalm 32:8 NIV). ‘Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in
it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.’ (Isaiah 30:21 NAS). What more do
you need?
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