“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:10-11).
Paul offered the only way for us to face life successfully. He didn’t just say “Be strong.” Those who’ve tried that on their own know it doesn’t work. Attempting to stand on our own just makes us realize how weak we really are. Paul added “in the Lord and in His mighty power.” That makes all the difference.
In tough times, when we’re trying to stand against whatever form of onslaught we are facing, we have two things on our side. We have God’s presence and His power. Don’t try to face life and its challenges alone. It is far better to face life with God’s presence. He is the undefeated Champion of the universe and has never lost a battle. Even at the Cross, when it looked to the observers like He was losing, He dealt a fatal blow to the devil.
When Paul referred to God’s “mighty power” he used two words that are packed with meaning. The word he used for “power” is used in the Greek Old Testament to describe the parting of the Red Sea and Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt. The word he used for “mighty” was used in Ephesians 1:20 to describe Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
We don’t stand alone with our strength in any crisis. We have the power that overthrew Egypt, the greatest nation on the face of the earth at that time. And we have the “might” that raised Jesus from the dead. Those resources are enough to handle anything life sends our way.
