STAYING UPRIGHT AND ON COURSE

If you faint in the day of adversity, Your strength is small.

Proverbs 24:10 - NKJV

I think this Scripture from the Book of Proverbs holds an especially important message for all of us right now. The word translated “adversity” here is a Hebrew word that means trouble, pressure or distress. Have you noticed that a lot of people are experiencing some adversity lately? Or, if they aren’t, the media is trying to make sure they think they are. Whether it is financial, marital, or even physical distress, trouble seems to be all around us – even on our doorstep.

But this verse implies that there is a strength available to the people of God that will hold us upright and on course through times of adversity. If we believe what the verse is saying—and we had better—we need not faint or falter when adversity comes to call. The word “faint” here means to relax the grip, drop the guard, abandon our post, or withdraw. If, when pressure comes, we grow weary and give up the fight, then what we have been calling strength, is no strength at all.

We Christians talk quite a bit about our convictions and our principles, and rightly so. We are people who have made Jesus Christ the Lord of our lives. We have let go of our old ways of self-interest and self-reliance to partner with God in the expansion of His kingdom on earth. We have realized that, not only are we incapable of achieving eternal life on our own, but we make a pretty big mess of life in general when we try to live it for our own selfish purposes and in our own human power. We have given up that way of living in favor of walking by faith in God. As we walk by faith in God, we are empowered by His Spirit and His Word in every possible aspect of life.

There is another verse that says; “The Lord will give unyielding and impenetrable strength to His people, the Lord will bless His people with peace.” (Psalm 29:11 Amplified Bible) God’s strength is custom tailored for the day of adversity. If there were never a need to resist evil, or overcome temptation, or wrestle with the desire to give up, why would God give us His strength? If adversity comes, and we quit—quit living for God, quit trusting Him to keep His promises, quit relying on His ability to bring His will to pass in our lives, quit standing on the eternal truths of His Word—our “strength” is a small, fragile, human counterfeit of the strength that God possesses and gives—it is no strength at all.

Recently, I have been trying to learn to sail a boat. On Blue Mesa Reservoir, with the winds constantly gusting and changing direction, it has been challenging to say the least. But, my boat is equipped with a large, heavy keel that acts like a pendulum, keeping it on its feet through the changing winds. When a gust hits, this 500-pound keel serves to keep the boat upright, and the shape of the keel works with the sails to turn the force of the wind into forward motion. I believe that God’s Spirit and His Word held deep in our hearts work much the same way. They serve to keep us upright and on course through all the extremes that life can throw at us.

So I encourage you this month to spend more and more time in His presence, and in His Word. Ephesians 6:10 says, …be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him… Don’t give up, don’t faint, and don’t quit. Bottom line, if Christians quit the devil wins. But if we stand, he has no hope whatsoever.