Tapping into Dynamic Inner Strength

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Ephesians 3:14-16

 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family^[c] in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶ that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

(ESV)

2017, a year for which I remain cautiously optimistic is off to a tragic start and I encourage my fellow believers in Christ to be prayerful.  It began with the tragic nightclub attack in Istanbul Turkey.  (1)  ISIS later took credit for his vicious attack on innocent people celebrating the new year.  (2)  On January 2, there was a suicide car bombing attacking a busy square in Baghdad killing at least 35 once again attacking innocent people most likely out for a day of shopping to begin the new year.  (3)  While it remains unclear whether ISIS is behind this attack, the fact that they were behind earlier suicide bombings on Saturday provides a strong probability they are behind this one as well.  Then there is the massive blast that also occurred on January 2 near the Mogadishu airport.  (4)

When coupled with the cautious optimism many have with the new leadership set to assume power on January 20 and concern about what the outgoing administration will do prior to then, we can begin to lose heart and become weak in our spirits.  However, there is no need for us to live our lives feeling weak and powerless for each of us has access to a massive source of inner strength that will take us through anything that might occur in 2017.  In Ephesians 3:14-21, Paul prayed that the church in Ephesus would have this inner strength as they faced persecution for their faith.  I believe if the Apostle Paul were alive today, he would expand this prayer to include all of us living in this world dominated by political uncertainty and brutal terrorism.  Let us now take a moment to find out how we can access this inner strength.

This inner strength is not something we possess on our own but something we have access to through the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 3:16).  This goes against the teachings of most eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism which speak of god dwelling within each individual and through ritual practices such as yoga and meditation, one can attain this inner strength.  (5)  However, this teaching contradicts the teachings of Paul.

Some believe that it is their good works that will somehow help them achieve some feeling of nirvana and inner strength.  While good works do benefit humanity, they do not provide lasting inner strength and one trying to achieve inner strength through good works will suffer disappointment and must fruitlessly go from one good work to another only to suffer emptiness once again as they fail to achieve lasting inner strength.    

While we must pay attention to the political process and participate through voting, history has demonstrated the failure of the political process to provide inner strength and stability due to the ever-changing political climate.  In each election cycle, there are winners and losers.  Those on the winning side believe their candidate will bring about lasting change that will strengthen the nation and lead to increased individual liberty.  Those on the losing side feel devastated and weak.  However, as history has demonstrated, the tide often turns with the winners one election becoming losers and vice versa.

This is not the source of inner strength the Apostle Paul refers to and not the inner strength that will bring lasting strength to our lives for the source of that inner strength is only found in the Spirit of God.  The good news is that we can all have access to this strength by,

1)      Accepting Jesus as our savior (John 3:16) – Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17).  However, the Holy Spirit is not with someone until the make Jesus their savior.  I therefore urge everyone reading this that has not already done so to pray with me and begin the process of tapping into dynamic inner strength,

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

2)      Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with His power (Luke 24:49) – Jesus told his disciples to wait in the city until they were filled with power from on high.  We now know that the power he was speaking of was the power the 120 received when the Holy Spirit came upon them in the Upper Room (Acts 2:1-4).  Jesus understood that tough times lie ahead for the Disciples after he left and that they would need the dynamic inner strength of the Holy Spirit to survive and be effective in their ministries. 

3)      Learning and using the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17) – The only offensive weapon in the arsenal of the spiritual warrior is the Sword of the Spirit the Word of God.  However, like a physical sword, it is a useless weapon unless the warrior takes hold of it and learns how to use it.  Inner strength and confidence in spiritual warfare comes when one is well trained in the use of their most powerful offensive weapon, the Bible, the Sword of the Spirit.

4)      Keeping the communication lines open (Romans12:12) – One of the marks of a true follower of Jesus Christ is consistency in prayer.  Prayer is our communication line to God and just like a Wi-Fi signal must be kept open so it is available when needed, our communication line to God must be kept open so when we find ourselves in need, we can ask knowing God hears us.

This coming year is a year of optimism for many but that does not mean there will not be set backs and problems.  For this reason, we must tap in to the dynamic inner strength available to us all.  Please do not hesitate to tap in to this strength.

1. Euan McKirdy, Ian Lee, Madison Park, and Kimberly Hutcherson. Istanbul nightclub attack: Manhunt underway for shooter. www.cnn.com. [Online] CNN World, January 1, 2017. [Cited: January 2 http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/01/europe/turkey-nightclub-attack/, 2017.]

2. Bacon, Steph Solis and John. Islamic State takes credit for New Year's attack at Istanbul nightclub. www.usatoday.com. [Online] USA Today, January 2, 2017. [Cited: January 2, 2017.] http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/01/02/istanbul-turkey-nightclub-attack/96077880/.

3. BBC. IS conflict: Baghdad suicide car bomb blast kills 35. www.bbc.com. [Online] BBC, January 2, 2017. [Cited: January 2, 2017.] http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-38488091.

4. Somalia News. Massive blast hits near Mogadishu airport. www.aljazeera.com. [Online] Aljazeera, January 2, 2017. [Cited: January 2, 2017.] http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/01/somalia-massive-blast-rocks-mogadishu-airport-170102091229184.html.

5. Fieser, James. CHAPTER 4: CLASSICAL EASTERN PHILOSOPHY. www.utm.edu. [Online] UTM, March 19, 2012. [Cited: January 2, 2017.] https://www.utm.edu/staff/jfieser/class/110/4-eastern.htm.