Mensa Otabil - Strong Hands
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Hebrews 12: 12 — 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 through 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, get tired of working hard, and get 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 to 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 strengthen the hands that hang down. Strengthen your hands; hands normally have to do with your work or your battles. We fight battles with our hands. So, when God says strengthen your hands, He means that we must work hard and fight on. Push on; work hard and fight on. There will be battles to be fought, but God says strengthen your hands and 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 like when Moses and the children of Israel were going to cross the Red Sea, and they got to the edge of the sea with the Egyptian Army 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, feel like you’re going to collapse, feel like you can’t survive this, or feel like you can’t stand it because 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. Stand because 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 this week, but if you stand this week, a miracle opens up next week. It may be a tough month, but when you stand, all you see is that next month something great happens to you because you 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 make straight paths for your feet. Your feet here refer to your movement and direction, which means be clear about where you want to go and what you want to do with your life in the year that we have entered. May your hands be strengthened, may your knees be strengthened, and may the Lord make straight paths for your feet so that you would walk in it. 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.»