SPIRITUAL STRENGTH

“He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.  The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.  Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion.”

Psalm 147:10-12 KJV

There are some people who never miss a day of working out at the gym but only open their Bible when they go to church.  It’s wonderful that we take care of our bodies and we should take care of our bodies.  However, God wants us to have spiritual strength.  He takes pleasure in those that fear him.

It is very important that we understand that God does not want us to be afraid of Him.  One of the definitions for fear in the King James Bible Dictionary is “Reverance; respect; due regard.”  Instead of being afraid of God we should respect Him and give Him the honor that He so richly deserves.

Many years ago in Sunday school, my teacher read this verse to us “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”  When she read that, I thought it meant that I shouldn’t want Jesus in my heart.   If you are a Sunday school teacher, be sure your students understand the verses you are reading to them. 

It’s okay to go to the gym and exercise physically but spiritual exercise should come first.  We read in the Bible.  “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).  Does God approve of our spiritual exercise?

If God were to grade us today on our spiritual exercise would He give us an A or would we receive a failing grade?  Let’s put God first in everything we say and in everything that we do. 

Joanne Lowe

January 25, 2015