Mensa Otabil - Strength for the Journey (10/31/2025)
Hebrews 12, verses 12 and 13: Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated but rather be healed. This is the word of encouragement to us; we need strength to push on throughout a year such as this and every other year. We need strength for every day, strength for every week, strength for months, and for the year because sometimes we all get tired. We get tired of trying, tired of working hard, and tired of trying to achieve something with our lives. So, as we begin this year, may the Almighty God fuel each one of us and give each one of us strength to push on, to not be feeble and not be dislocated.
In our passage for today, God gives us three instructions related to strength that we must develop in three areas of our lives. The first one He says is to strengthen the hands that hang down. Strengthen your hands. Hands normally have to do with your work and your battles; we fight battles with our hands. So, when God says strengthen your hands, He means work hard, fight on, and push on. There will be battles to be fought, but God says strengthen your hands, work hard, and push on. For each one of us today, I just want to encourage you: strengthen your hands, work hard, fight on, and push on. May the Lord give you the strength in your hands never to grow weary.
The second instruction He gives is to strengthen the feeble knees. Strengthen the feeble knees. The knees have to do with our ability to stand. So God says that we must strengthen our ability to stand because whatever happens this year, you’re going to stand. I think of when Moses and the children of Israel were going to cross the Red Sea and they reached the edge of the sea while the Egyptian Army was behind them. Moses speaks to the people and says, «Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.» That’s what we need to do: stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. Strengthen your feeble knees. If you feel wobbly, like you’re going to collapse, or that you can’t survive this, or you feel you can’t stand it again-if it’s too hard, too hot, or too difficult — just stand. Stand by the grace of God, stand holding the hand of the Lord, and stand depending on the word of the Lord. But stand. Sometimes all you need to do in life is stand to see the salvation God has for you. It may be a tough week for you, but if you stand this week, a miracle opens up the next week. It may be tough this month, but when you stand, you’ll see something great happen next month because you will never see the mercy and the goodness that God has for you if you’re not able to stand. So stand; strengthen the feeble knees.
The third thing that God says we should do is to make straight paths for your feet. Your feet here refer to your movement and direction. That means be clear about where you are going and what you want to do with your life in this year we have entered. May your hands be strengthened, may your knees be strengthened, and may the Lord make straight paths for your feet, and you will walk in them. I trust God that this year is going to be the most spectacularly good year for you. You will be fruitful on all sides, and I believe the Lord will do it for you. Let’s share a word of prayer together. Say with me: Heavenly Father, strengthen my hands for work and for battle. Help me to stand in faith and stay on course. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.