Finally, my brethren, BE STRONG IN THE LORD, and in the power of his might.

Ephesians 6:10

All through the Bible, Christians are exhorted to be strong. You will see the phrase, ‘be strong’ appearing many times throughout the Bible.  In order to be strong you must strengthen yourself.  Most Christians are strong in their bodies, strong in politics, strong in academics, strong in business, strong in relationships but not strong in the Lord.  God is emphasizing that you must be strong in the Lord.

To be strong in the Lord is to be a strong Christian. Many people come to know the Lord but never become strong in the Lord. They remain spiritual weaklings for the rest of their lives. This book will teach you how to become a good and strong Christian.  There are a number of things that characterize a good strong Christian.  You must aim to develop all these attributes if you are going to be a good strong believer.  To be a strong Christian you must develop spirituality, zeal, maturity, holiness and steadfastness in the Lord.

There are several different areas of your life that must be developed if you are to ever be called a strong Christian. This whole book is about developing these areas that turn you into a strong Christian. The nine areas you need to develop if you want to be strong in the Lord are listed below.

1.To be a strong Christian is to develop a deeper Christian life.

Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.

Psalm 42:7

2.To be a strong Christian is to become steadfast.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:58

3.To be a strong Christian is to become unmoveable.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:58

4.To be a strong Christian is to become spiritual.

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:1

5.To be a strong Christian is to become holy.

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.

Hebrews 12:14

6. To be a strong Christian is to become mature.

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.

Ephesians 4:14

7. To be a strong Christian is to be zealously affected always in a good thing.  To be strong in the Lord is to be full of zeal.

But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.

Galatians 4:18

8.To be a strong Christian is to become fruitful.

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and BRING FORTH FRUIT, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

John 15:16

9.To be a strong Christian is to be in a state of readiness to meet God at any time.

Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.

Amos 4:12

Six Reasons Why You Must Strengthen Yourself

1.Strengthen yourself so that you can overcome the wicked one.

I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, BECAUSE YE ARE STRONG, and the word of God abideth in you, AND YE HAVE OVERCOME THE WICKED ONE.

1 John 2:14

The wicked one is not a weakling.  It is only when you are strong that you can overcome the wicked one.  If you joke with the enemy, you will have yourself to blame.  Fighting Satan is to fight a seasoned warrior who has seen many battles.  The devil has fought many Christians over the years.  He is experienced in destroying and tempting Christians.  The devil was alive when Jesus was alive. He is not a newcomer, but you are!  Rise up and become stronger so that you will defeat the wicked one.

When I was in secondary school, I was bullied by wicked seniors.  I went through all sorts of torture and punishment inflicted on me by people who were just a year ahead of me.  During this time, I realised the depth of wickedness that existed in the heart of mankind.  These thirteen and fourteen year old boys exercised ultimate power over me because they happened to be a year ahead.

Sometimes, I was asked to do what they called the ‘monkey dance.’ At other times I was asked to do the ‘Tower of Liberty’ punishment.   Sometimes, I had to scrub toilets and showers till 3.00am.  Sometimes I had to carry several buckets of manure over a distance of five kilometres.  Sometimes I was asked to stand guard and kill any mosquitoes that flew around the bed.  Other punishments which existed included eating gari (cassava flakes) and mashed bitter quinine tablets.  For several months, I suffered under the hands of these wicked seniors. One day, I noticed that one of my classmates was never called, never sent anywhere, never harassed and never punished!   But I knew why! He was far bigger and stronger than the seniors!  This classmate of mine was bigger, stronger and older than the rest of my class and the seniors were genuinely afraid of him.  He could have beaten up any of them up at a moment’s notice.

There were times the seniors would shout out: “One small boy!”  This meant that all juniors had to run towards the senior who had called for “One small boy!”  We would all run but the older, bigger stronger boy would utterly ignore the seniors and carry on doing what he was doing. No one dared ask him anything.  They were scared of him because he was so strong!  But I was not strong.  I was weak, beatable and punishable.  I was a good prey for those wicked heartless seniors.  If only I could be as strong as my big and muscular classmate.

This is where I learnt the importance of strength! When you are strong, the wicked ones are forced to leave you alone.  The wicked ones know that they will be defeated.  Satan will not dare to even start a problem because he knows it will not end well for him.  You must be strong because when something stronger than you comes against you, it will overcome you and destroy you.

When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.

Luke 11:21-22

This should be the greatest motivation for strengthening yourself! As you become stronger, the wicked one is forced to leave you alone because he knows that many temptations will simply not work on you. Be strong in the Lord!

2. You must strengthen yourself in the Lord because your enemy is planning to attack you again.

And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Benhadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen.

And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.

And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, GO, STRENGTHEN THYSELF, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.

1 Kings 20:20-22

Your enemy is planning an attack. Whether you like it or not you will be attacked. The enemy has eyed you and selected you as a prime target.  Without provocation the enemy will strike when his season comes. Jesus was attacked over and over throughout His life and ministry.  Even on the cross, in His very last few minutes, Jesus experienced unrelenting temptations and attacks. I want you to decide to become the strongest Christian possible because you are going to defeat the enemy many times over.

3.Strengthen yourself so you can run your race properly.

Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth AS A STRONG MAN TO RUN A RACE.

Psalms 19:4-5

You will notice that athletes, even women, are very muscular and strong. Without strength you cannot run a race.  You need to strengthen yourself if you are going to be a spiritual athlete and run your course.  All of us are involved in the Christian race.  We must run the race that is set before us and we must win.  “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,” (Hebrews 12:1).

4.Strengthen yourself so that you can withstand in the evil day.

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Ephesians 6:13

Everybody reacts differently in the day of a crisis.  Some people, with soft hearts, collapse and die in the day of a crisis. Others go mad in the day of a crisis. You see, in the day of your crisis everything changes. Without strength, the pressure, the crises and the problems will destroy you.  It is time to be strong in the Lord so that you can withstand in the evil day. There are others who have experienced so many crises in their lives and are still standing.  Will you be left standing in the evil day or will you fall and give up when the pressure rises?  It is time to prepare yourself for the day of crisis and pressure.

Those who plan to merely pass an exam often fail.  When something goes wrong, they are quickly tipped into the fail zone. That is why you must aim higher so that if something goes wrong, you do not fall below the mark. Decide to be far stronger than you really need to be.  In the evil day, you will be well able to withstand the pressure.

5.Strengthen yourself so that you can help other people.

We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

Romans 15:1

When you are on an aeroplane, they teach you to put on your oxygen masks in the event of an emergency.  They also ask that parents should put on their own oxygen masks first before attempting to help their children.  Why is this?  Should they not attend to the children first since they are weaker?  Answer is ‘No’!  The parents will need oxygen to keep them alive and strong.  If they are not alive and strong, they will not be able to help anyone, not even their own children.  Strength is important if you are going to help your neighbour.  Have you ever wondered why countries like Senegal, Guinea or Ghana are not asked for financial or military assistance when there is a world crisis?   People often look to America because they are well known for their financial and military strength.

Without strength you cannot bear the infirmities of the weak. There is no way you can help other people if you yourself are down and out. God has called you to be strong in him and to become a blessing to other people. Develop strength so that you can be a blessing to many other people.

6.Strengthen yourself because it is a wise thing to be strong.

A WISE MAN IS STRONG; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

Proverbs 24:5

Since the Second World War, most nations have strengthened themselves because they have learnt from experience that it is wise to develop strength lest another tyrant like Hitler should arise in their midst. The end result is that Europe has become an armed nuclear camp waiting to be ignited.

Indeed, European nations prefer to arm themselves than to sit down in weakness, lest anyone rise up to create another war.  You must not sit down in weakness.  The devil will take advantage of you as soon as he realises you are not wise enough to prepare yourself in times of peace. You must strengthen yourself because it is a wise thing to do.

by Dag Heward-Mills