BE STRONG IN THE LORD.

Ephesians 6:10,11

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

11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Understand that the phrase: "Be strong in the Lord," is neither a suggestion nor an advice, but a standing order from the Lord Jesus Christ to His Church. And you are the Church if you are a believer in Christ Jesus.

Now, you don't have to flex your muscles in the natural, nor put on a religious show to prove that you are strong. It's not about being strong in yourself, but it's about being strong in God's Word to a point where nothing, and no one could dissuade you from the firm conviction that you have in God's Word.

You don't entertain any dialogue with the devil. Your motto is "...Let God be true, but every man a liar..." (Rom. 3:4). God's Word is the final authority in your life. In that way, you cannot be easily swayed, neither by man not by spirits.

The Bible says, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?... Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:35,39).

Your major enemies are not flesh and blood, they are spirit beings. The activities of human enemies are being controlled by these wicked spirits.

Have you ever stop to think about the source of the oppositions, persecutions and different form of attacks that you've encountered lately?

The devil will always try as much as possible to put road blocks across your path because he's afraid that you are going to succeed, or on the other way round, he will hurl all kinds of fiery darts or flaming arrows at you; arrows of fear, discouragement, despondency, and frustration, just to weaken your faith and get you down.

His mission is to disorientate you, so you can loose your faith or confidence that you have in God, and then destroy you. "The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy..." (Jn. 10:10 NIV).

You are no match for the devil 😈 except you put on the whole defensive armour of God and then launch the offensive with the sword of the spirit which is the Word of God (Eph. 6:12-18).

Now, this is not the time to be weak, it's the time to be strong! It's not the time to weep, lament, or have a pity party, it's the time to put on the whole armour of God and give no place to the devil (Eph. 4:27).

Even if you are down already, you can still stage a come back. God has not forsaken you! "For he hath saith, I WILL NEVER LEAVE THEE, NOR FORSAKE THEE" (Heb. 13:5).

So he is waiting for you to come back now; irrespective of what might have brought you down, He is able to lift you up if you are willing. It's not over simply because you stumbled and fell, but it will be over if you fail to get up.

"BE STRONG IN THE LORD" IS A CLARION CALL TO THE CHURCH IN THESE FINAL DAYS. IF YOU MUST FINISH YOUR COURSE WELL, YOU HAVE NO OPTION BUT TO BE STRONG IN THE LORD.

Now get this straight: the fact that you are strong today is not a guarantee that you will remain strong 💪 for the rest of your life. A notable Father of faith once said, "Being a faith person today and having faith in God today doesn't mean that ten days, thirty days, six months from now you will have faith. If you shut off the Word supply you can coast for a while. But you are about to come down."

The Word says, "... And having done all, to stand" (Eph. 6:13). Keep standing, don't be carried away by a recent victory. Remember that the devil only departed from Jesus for a season (Lk. 4:13), but he later launched the the final onslaught on Him at Calvary, and he lost it because our Lord emerged victorious!

The enemy of your soul waits for your unguarded moment to give a surprise attack.

Elijah brought fire 🔥 and rain ⛈️ down from heaven, and also slayed the 450 prophets of baal in one day, and mine! That was a landslide victory.

But he was met with utter defeat on the next day. He ran away and sat under the juniper tree. He became despondent, and began to expect the worst. The great prophet was intimidated by a woman, and this was because he was unprepared!

Yesterday's spiritual preparation is not sufficient to face today's challenges. You must be spiritually prepared on a daily basis; in that way, you will constantly be on the alert, thus putting on the whole armour of God.

So putting on the whole armour of God has nothing in the world to do with putting on a religious show. The devil is not intimidated by your big Bible, acrobatic display, and religious merry - go - rounding. What scares the devil away is your undaunted faith in God's Word.

"Be strong in the Lord"  is a Clarion call to the Church in these final days. If you must finish your course well, you have no other option, but to be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might 🛡🛡🛡

              Emmanuel B. Afolabi

About Me: I'm passionate about helping people to know the Lord personally, and to relate with Him intimately.