Strengthen Yourself in the Lord with Scripture
By: Jack Heimbigner
Tags: Religion, Christianity, Faith, Spirituality, Hope

“A scared world needs a fearless church.” — A.W. Tozer

With churches and large gatherings being closed down all over the country, I have been feeling God call me to share more encouragement for the church. It feels like a spirit of fear is attempting to lock down our world due to the precautions we are taking.

We need to push the spirit out of our lives. And be strengthened by Lord.

How do we do this? We cannot go to our regular church services. And while the virtual services being held which is great, what else can we do?

We can strengthen ourselves in the Lord in a lot of ways. One way however is to be committing scripture to memory. And then keeping it close to our hearts when fear starts to take hold.

This morning, I want to share ten passages from the Bible which I have been keeping close and reminding myself of the truth found in the Word of God. You may want to bookmark this story to help you draw on these verses as the next few weeks go on.

10 Bible Passages to Strengthen You

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

This is a verse that myself, wife, and daughters have put to memory. There is great freedom in the power of this verse. And we have found this to be true over and over again in our lives.

“Anxious fear brings depression, but a life-giving word of encouragement can do wonders to restore joy to the heart.”

How true are these are words? I want to encourage you to reach out to two or three people today and share something encouraging with them. Maybe this post, or maybe simply tell them how thankful you are for them.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

In times like now, we need hope that is overflowing in excess. We need it for ourselves, our families, and the people we will encounter for work. It will be hope which will heal our souls and give us strength.

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

This is another family scripture, this one which we have kept since my wife and I got married nearly eight years ago. It has been a scripture which we live by and whenever something hard comes up, I draw on it for strength.

“God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.”

God has called us to bring hope, joy, and peace through the Holy Spirit to the world. And this is where he encourages us to take up our calling and blessing. Will you spread a little more peace in your world today?

№6 — 1 John 4:18 (NLT)

“Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.”

Love and fear are a battle. We cannot love when we live in fear. And we cannot fear when we are fully experiencing love. Today, step into love. Tell someone you love them.

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

This was from a prophecy of God to his people. And it extends to us today. We are his people, and he has promised to give us strength and help us. Come to him expectantly.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

God is with us wherever we go. He was talking to the Israelites as he was handing leadership over to Joshua. But for us, today, we could use this as we go to work or need to go to the grocery store.

“Listen to my testimony: I cried to God in my distress and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears!”

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow — not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below — indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Ultimately, there is nothing that will separate us from the love of God. His love is powerful. And he extends it to you and me. In this love, we can experience a great deal of power and miracles. Pray for miracles around the globe today.

Be Strengthened in the Lord

There is nothing here on earth that can compare to the power and love of God. He wants us to come to him when we are worried, scared, or anxious. And he wants us to bring this strengthened peace to the world.

When the church is strong, smart, and encouraging we will be sharing God’s love and power with those who need the hope it brings. And so, start your day with these scriptures.

Pray through these scriptures. Take one or two and put them on a notecard. Bookmark this post for later. Spend time thanking and praising God for who he is. And share this encouragement with others.

I believe that we have an opportunity to bring a message of hope in a time that feels scary and hopeless. And it starts with us.

Do you have scripture that encourages you when you are fearful, worried, or stressed? Share in the responses below.