You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. (Acts 1:8)
When I was growing up, my father would frequently remind our family of the old saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Now, these words do not come from a passage of sacred Scripture, but they do convey a biblical truth for us as we work our way through this pandemic. Read on and be encouraged today!
“Staying power” comes from our Lord, the greatest model of supernatural staying power the world has ever seen. Jesus never wavered in His commitment to His calling as the Savior of the world. In fact, while hanging on the cross, those who were mocking Him sneered, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:40). And, as I have written here before, He could have done exactly that! Jesus Christ could have come down from that cross in an instant, uttered one word, and twelve legions of angels would have turned the hill Golgotha into a slaughter pen (Matthew 26:53). It wasn’t nails that held Jesus Christ to the cross; it was his amazing, eternal love for you and me.
For many who are confronted with times of great difficulty and unhappiness, like those brought on by this pandemic, the tendency is to falter and faint under the weight of trial. But this is not to be the confession of the Christian, because greater is the power that is in you than any power that can come against you. In our passage today we are assured that we received this power at the moment of our salvation. We are given the same staying and sustaining power that our Lord Jesus had, and it is available to us not just daily, but moment by moment. God in Christ has given us everything we need to do all He has called us to do, regardless of the circumstances we are facing. As the apostle Paul wrote, we can do all things through Him who gives us strength (Philippians 4:13).
All the signs seem to point to the fact that we are getting to the other side of this pandemic. To be sure, there have been and undoubtedly will be some bumps in the road to recovery, but more and more businesses are reopening and more and more people are getting out of their homes while adhering to the important recommendations that we hope will protect us from this virus. With masks on we march on, and we do so in the strength of our Savior, who is calling us to never give up and never give in to the impulse of shrinking back from any storm wind that blows our way.
How have you been demonstrating your staying power lately? Remember, keep looking to Jesus, trusting that He will give you the power to stay the course that God has set before you.
You are in my prayers and in my heart.
Purpose and Passion,
Pastor Tommy
Grace for the Race 