Strengthen Yourself in the Lord – Week 5

Points to Ponder:

Download a printable PDF here

Hi friends, here are some points to meditate on this coming week. Please don’t rush through them. Partner with Holy Spirit as you honestly answer each question. Maybe consider only answering 1 or 2 questions a day. This is where non-judgemental self-awareness is crucial. To be honest with yourself and God about what your thoughts, feelings and beliefs really are, is an incredibly empowering step to becoming the strong, courageous, powerful, loving and free person you were designed to be:

1. When we are born again, we inherit every promise of God for the believer. Peter tells us in chapter 1:4 that through these “very great and precious promises”, we may “participate in the divine nature.” These promises unlock our potential to become like Christ. But 3 things must happen before we truly possess them:
a) The promises must be spoken into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. John 16:13-14 tells us the Holy Spirit speaks only what he hears, and he tells us what is yet to come. A word may have come to you through another person prophesying over you, or through an anointed prayer, or a passage of Scripture, a dream or vision, or the still small voice of the Spirit.
b) We must believe those promises.
c) Your faith in the promise must be tested and proven. Even Jesus – after the Father spoke that wonderful word over him, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”, he was challenged by the devil in the wilderness. He said, “If you are the Son of God …” But Jesus stood on the promise of the Father on the basis that God was one who made the promise. He heard the Word and received it, and believed that the Father’s Word over his life was true.

Take a few moments and ask Holy Spirit to highlight to you which promises He wants to speak into your heart regarding the circumstances you’re currently facing. Once you have a few promises written down, be honest with yourself and God – do you believe these promises? Make a choice to believe like Mary in Luke 1:38 and say, “May it be to me as you have said.” Receive them, write them down, meditate on them, declare them over your life, and let them draw you into your eternal purpose.

2. The most powerful thing in the universe, the Word of God, can be made powerless by us. We can shut off our access to that power by choosing religion, our own thoughts, or tradition, as more important than what God has said. Take a moment for non-judgemental self-evaluation, and ask Holy Spirit to show you if there are any areas where you are choosing to define yourself outside of what God has said. And ask Him to remind you what His Words are over you in those areas.

3. This week I would like to encourage you to look for every opportunity to keep the testimony. Let’s begin to establish a culture of the testimony in our personal lives, in our homes, and in our community gatherings. Let’s be intentional about creating opportunities to talk about what God has done when we get up, when we eat a meal, when we go to work, and when we go to bed. Let’s build memorials that remind us of what God has done and consider them regularly. Maybe start keeping a journal to record the answers to prayer you’ve had, and heard about, and the miracles you’ve witnessed. As we do so we will have a steady supply of encouragement and strength, that will help bring us into our destiny.