This week, I’ve had a virus and have felt just blah. With the change of season, flu’s, bugs, and sniffles are all around.
As I shared with my sister about how I was feeling, she offered to pray for me. (As a side note – how beautiful is it when feeling terrible and someone offers to pray with us! What a gift!)
Discovering Strength: As my sister prayed, she blessed me with a little line that most might not have noticed. But these five little words infiltrated my heart and became a declaration during a time of weakness.
She prayed, “God, would You bless Karen with ‘going from strength to strength.'”
Through the brain fog, sore throat, headaches, and lethargy, these words felt like honey to my heart.
“From strength to strength,” what does that mean? I was intrigued, so I looked it up. Long story short, going from strength to strength means continually increasing in strength and vitality.
Doesn’t that sound amazing? Doesn’t that make you want to go from strength to strength? It does for me.
Divine Interaction: Later in the week, a dear friend, Jules, reached out and used that same phrase in a message she sent me. Now, I’m beginning to realize that when something is repeated, God is often speaking, especially if it’s for our good. Within the space of two days, I had heard this phrase “going from strength to strength” twice, and both messages came at a time when I was feeling particularly blah.
Encouragement from Scripture: So today, I sat down and learned more about going from strength to strength, and I felt to bless you with it today as well. I don’t know what you’re going through, I don’t know your situation, I don’t know the challenges, hurdles, or walls you face. This idea of going from strength to strength is something I want us to grab hold of, whatever we are going through. You see, there are so many things that aim to sap our strength, bring us down, or speak the opposite of what this little phrase promises us.
Guidance from Psalms: How much, you ask, do we go from strength to strength? How do we do this when we feel so weak, depleted, or tired? The Bible tells us in Psalm 84:7, across multiple translations, that we go from strength to strength as we appear before God. I always find it helpful to check on biblehub.com and glance over all the different translations to gain a better understanding of what I am reading. At the bottom of each page, there is the Greek or Hebrew original translation which is essential in understanding what the intent of the verse is.
The Jewish people have a special phrase that means this exact thing – ‘Yasher Koach’ which translates to, ‘May you go from strength to strength.’
What a blessing to give those who are walking a challenging time! What a blessing to give someone when they feel sad, lonely or need some hope, or strength.
How do we practically go from strength to strength? Without burning ourselves out in striving mode? Well Psalm 84:7 tells us that too.
Psalm 84:7 NKJV
5Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
6As they pass through the Valley of [c]Baca,
They make it a spring;
The rain also covers it with [d]pools.
7They go from strength to strength;
[e]Each one appears before God in Zion.
Practical Application: This might sound a bit mystical in a way, but in simplest terms, it’s an invitation to come to God with what is bothering us, what is weighing us down, and to share with Him all that burdens us.
These verses reveal the Jewish people on a journey, back to the heartland of connecting with faith.
We are blessed in this way, because we don’t have to travel thousands of kilometres, across deserts, seas or through forests to meet with God. It’s as simple as realising that God is everywhere I am, and starting or continuing a conversation with Him.
My personal experience has been that as I do start the conversation through journaling, praying, (or whatever way I am connecting with God, or He with me) and share with Him things that I want to share with Him—He brings me what I need.
I always feel tended to, comforted, energised, more peaceful, stronger or just better from our interactions.
How about you?
Bless You!
So today, I want to bless you with this same thing.
As you come to Him and share what’s on your heart, you will go from strength to strength.
From power to power.
From virtue to virtue.
That you would grow stronger as you go.
That you are sustained as you travel along.
That you would experience wealth, virtue, valor, and strength, and all the while, you would know that you are not alone.
In Jesus’ name, amen. xxxxx
