Life is like a long-distance journey that when making, you must stop at various points to climb some hurdles and level some mountains before you can proceed with the trip. I want you to imagine a straight, vertical line with you traveling on the line from west to east. This straight, vertical line shows you on the journey of life. However, on this line I want you to also envisage plotted points. These plotted points signify hurdles you must climb; mountains you must level; problems you must solve; questions you must answer; red seas you must divide; and giants you must conquer. Until you prevail over the challenges at these points you will not be able to crossover to arrive at your destination.
What you need to face all of these challenges and climb all these hurdles is strength and that is exactly what the angle told Elijah. He said the journey is too great for you and what you need is strength for the journey. Without strength you will crumble and be crushed under the pressure of the challenges, crisis, calamities and catastrophes that unavoidably and inescapably show up at certain points in the journey of life.
As long as you live in this world, life will present you with situations and circumstances that are not pleasant. Actually, troubles, problems and challenges welcome people the moment they are born. According to Job 5:6-7, “afflictions does not come from the dust and from the ground but they come to man, therefore, man is born to trouble.” Life is full of troubles and as a matter of fact, troubles keep following man until the day HE departs this earth. That’s why in John 16:33, Jesus said to us His disciples that; “these things I have spoken to you that in Me you will have peace. In this world you will have tribulations but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” In Job 14:1, the author writes: “man born of woman is of few days but full of trouble.”
Life is like a journey that is extremely tedious. A journey full of trials, full of temptations, full of troubles, full of tribulations, full of problems, full of crisis, and full of challenges. Because of the inevitable complications and complexities of life’s journey, the angel asked Elijah to take in that which has the ability to give him strength and stamina for the task ahead.
Whatever journey you are embarking on requires that you have strength built in you for that journey. Whether embarking on a marital journey, a relational journey, a commercial journey, a spiritual journey, an educational journey, an occupational journey, and so forth, you must have some in-built strength for the task, else when the inescapable and inevitable waves of life begin to blow against your ship, when life begins to throw you certain curves, turns, detours, & routes, without strength, you will sink and crush.
Why You Need Strength
I want to show you some reasons why you need strength:
(1) Because of certain crisis/challenges that life will bring your way
Life will at certain times bring you some challenges and if you are not strong you will break down and fall apart under the weight and the pressure of the challenge. This is why you need to build some strength inside you so when challenges come you will be able to stand. It is in the light of this that God cautioned Joshua to build some inner strength in himself before assuming the role of leading Israel to The Promised Land. So in Joshua chapter 1 alone, you read of God charging Joshua over and over again to be strong and of good courage. Let’s examine the scriptures.
(2) Because of wilderness experiences intended to train you
Everyone at certain times will go through some type of wilderness experience. A wilderness experience is when God takes you through tough times to train and teach you a lesson. Because God sometimes intentionally leads us into the wilderness to train and teach us, we have need of strength to come through the wilderness successfully.
(3) Because almost all promotions in life come with a proportionate challenge
After defeating the 450 prophets of Baal, Elijah felt a spiritual promotion. He was then led to the wilderness but because he had not built strength within him, he requested that his life be taken away (1 Kings 19:4). However, if he were to be strong inside, he would not have prayed to die. Every promotion and success in life comes with a proportionate, correlated and corresponding challenge and demand.
After the death of Moses, God came to Joshua and said in Joshua 1:2; “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore, you have been promoted to lead the children of Israel. Arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people to the land which I am giving to them.” Due to this promotion that came to Joshua, you hear God repeatedly say to him: “Be strong and of good courage.” After every promotion you will be challenged and if you are not strong the challenge will make a victim out of you instead of a victor.
May God build spiritual strength and resilience in you to prevail over every challenge in Jesus' name.
Dr. Sadick Arthur is the Senior Pastor, along with his lovely wife Maame Boatemaa, of International Central Gospel Church in Northern Virginia. He is a multi-gifted and dynamic teacher of the Word of God. As a man of God and a gentleman of unlimited potential, Dr. Arthur has distinguished himself as a caring, loving and anointed pastor.
He has authored several books and is a seasoned extraordinary motivational speaker. He pioneered the planting and establishment of ICGC in New York and quite recently the Virginia Assembly of ICGC.He speaks extensively on issues relating to self-improvement, social, economic and spiritual empowerment. His passion and desire is to see each person to whom he minister become all that God has created them to be. For more on Dr. Sadick Arthur, visit www.icgcva.org
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