To be 'strengthened by the Lord' is an often overlooked aspect of successfully standing in the day of evil. Yet it is absolutely essential. When David faced the loss of his family and possible stoning by his friends, the Bible says that he 'strengthened himself in the Lord his God.' When Paul stood before the emperor after being deserted by those closest to him, the Lord stood with him and 'strengthened' him. But what exactly does it mean to be strengthened by the Lord? What do we do to be strengthened? This teaching addresses these questions.
[listen to MP3] [watch video] [download notes as pdf]
[listen to MP3] [watch video] [download notes as pdf]
This passage has one primary objective:
Eph 6:13, NIV
…that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
The passage offers three keys for reaching the objective:
- Recognizing the reality that we are in a real battle against unseen forces of evil
- Being strengthened by the Lord and the power of his might
- Utilizing the full armor provided to us by God
The first two weeks of the study, we looked at the importance of recognizing the reality that we are in a battle against spiritual forces of evil as well as some aspects of that battle. In this study, we’ll talk about the second key, which is found in verse 10.
Eph 6:10, HCSB
Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength.
What does Paul mean by “be strengthened by the Lord”?
ENDUNAMOO—from en, ‘in’ and dunamis, ‘power’; inwardly
empowered; to be supernaturally empowered or strengthened
The word endunamoo (‘strong’) was frequently used by classical Greek writers to describe individuals who had been very carefully handpicked by the gods to perform extra-special, superhuman tasks…. The apostle Paul was an exceptionally brilliant and educated man. From his own studies in classical Greek, he undoubtedly knew this historical usage of the word endunamoo. So when discussing the supernatural power that the Holy Spirit gives us to withstand the work of the adversary, Paul deliberately chose this word that had unmistakable connotations—denoting a power that turns mere men into champions who possess superhuman, supernatural strength. – Rick Renner, from Dressed to Kill
- ENDUNAMOO would have been used to describe Hercules.
- ENDUNAMOO could be used to describe Popeye.
- ENDUNAMOO is an inner empowering or strengthening that enables a believer to victoriously stand against an enemy that, from a purely human perspective, is stronger and smarter—rulers, authorities, cosmic powers over this present darkness, spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.
Where does this empowering come from?
- Where does Popeye’s empowering come from?
- Where does Paul say our empowering come from?
Eph 6:10, HCSB
Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength.
For Paul this is not some vague spiritual concept with no practical application, he is referring to an actual encounter with the Lord during which DUNAMIS is imparted and received—2 Tim. 4:16-18.
2 Tim 4:17, NKJV
But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
David’s life provides perhaps the best Biblical example of what it looks like to be strengthened by the Lord in adverse circumstances—1 Sam. 30:1-8.
1 Sam 30:6, ESV
And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.
CHAZAQ (khaw-zak’)-Hebrew root for the
underlined phrase; the basic meaning of this word is take hold of or fasten
upon, become strong, make strong or strengthen
How do we engage the Lord in order to be empowered by His vast strength?
How does Popeye engage spinach in order to
receive power? Knowing that spinach is
the key to his strength is not enough.
Having spinach in the cabinet (or in Popeye’s case mysteriously tucked
in his shirt) is not enough. Popeye is
strengthened or empowered only when he eats spinach.
Psalm 27, which
could easily have been written by David during the Ziklag crisis, provides an
important clue into what he actually did to strengthen himself in the Lord.
Ps 27:14,ESV
Wait for the LORD; be strong [CHAZAQ], and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!
QAVAH (kaw-vaw’)—root for the underlined
means to bind together, perhaps by twisting
QAVAH suggests a purposed, intimate,
unrushed engaging with the Lord by stilling ourself in His presence.
QAVAH was David’s
secret, the key to strengthening himself in the Lord… an idea borne out in one
of the most important promises in the Bible.
Isa 40:29-31, NKJV
He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
FOR FURTHER STUDY
QAVAH suggests a purposed, intimate, unrushed engaging with the Lord by stilling ourself in His presence... through worship, meditating on Scripture or simply turning our focus toward him.
- Read and meditate on Psalm 27, particularly verses 4-6, 7-8 and 11-14.
- Read and meditate on Psalm 62, particularly verses 1-2 and 5-7.
- Read and meditate on Psalm 37:1-8, particularly verses 7-8.
Learning how to quiet our thoughts and emotions so that we can enter into an intimate, unrushed time with the Lord is a challenge we all face. David addresses this in Ps. 131.
Ps 131:1-2, NIV
My heart is not proud, O Lord,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
2 But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child with its mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
DAMAN
(daw-man’)—to be silent; to be still; to stop; to wait; used in Josh. 10:12-13
when Joshua asked the Lord to make the sun ‘stand still’ and the moon ‘stop’ so
he could pursue the Amorites
Ruth Haley Barton, in her book Invitation to Solitude and Silence, relates how someone once told her, “Ruth, you are like a jar of river water all shaken up. What you need is to still long enough that the sediment can settle and the water can become clear.”
Ron Ross says this about getting quiet before the Lord: “Lower your energy level (getting off the carousel of the mind and allowing the mental and emotional ‘gyros’ to slow to a halt) by being quiet and present to the Lord. That requires scheduling adequate time to be alone in his presence.”There is no formula for quieting ourselves so we can engage with the Lord in a purposed, intimate, unrushed way. Different people seem to quiet and settle in different ways:
- some through worship;
- others by reading and meditating on Scripture
- others by simply sitting in a quiet place and turning their attention and affection toward the Lord;
- and still others using a combination of all three.
The two
things that do seem to be common—and critical—are setting aside a reasonable
amount of time and finding a place that is as free as possible of distractions.
It is
important to note that once the skill of QAVAH has been developed in the
private, quiet place, it can be accessed quickly in a moment of crisis… no
matter how much noise is going on around us.
Like Paul, though we might be in the trial of our life, we are able to
turn our attention to our ever-present Lord and allow Him to ‘ENDUNAMOO’
us in the moment.
