The Bible illustrates God’s strength to save in the story of Gideon. has the power to save or to destroy” (James 4:12, NLT). They help us to understand the contrast between man’s total helplessness and God’s insuperable strength. These two verses are the most forceful summary of the dynamics of salvation found anywhere in the Bible. Paul makes this abundantly clear: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). The Bible places an emphasis on God’s strength in our salvation. The one “who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4), because the God of all power needs no rest. “Praise him for his acts of power” (Psalm 150:2). He parted the Red Sea, caused the sun to stand still, raised the dead, and performed many other great and glorious deeds. He created the world and all that is in it with the power of His word. God’s strength in the Bible is readily seen in many of His works. The Lord gives His children strength to minister to others (1 Timothy 1:12 1 Peter 4:11), strength to face persecution (2 Timothy 1:8), and strength to overcome death (1 Corinthians 15:57). As we learn to rely on God’s strength instead of our own, we gain new heights: “The Sovereign LORD is my strength he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights” (Habakkuk 3:19). Christ’s “power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). The weakness inherent in human nature is why the Bible commends us to the strength of the Lord. Left to our own devices, we will fall into temptation and fail in any worthy endeavor. No matter how strong we think we are, “the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38). but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord” (Jeremiah 9:23–24). “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength. The unlimited power of Christ is the source of strength for those who belong to Him.Īccording to the Bible, what strength we have is not our own. Believers are to “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” (Ephesians 6:10).
The Greek word katei means “power, strength, might.” In the Bible, strength is often linked to God’s power. The word strength and its derivatives are mentioned over 360 times in the Bible, applying to both natural and supernatural strength.
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