Preaching to my heart.

Preaching to my heart; standing in truth...

Dear friends, I don't mind telling you of my weakness because it leads me to tell you about my Strength.

I often grip both sides of my bathroom sink, look in the mirror, and stare my own self in the eye and say, "Buck up!"

Many times, I hear the Spirit ringing 1 Corinthians 16:13 in my very being: "Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong."

Be strong. Be strong. Be strong. How can such a weak thing as a man be strong?

I mean we can buck up, gather our whispering courage, and face things as best we can, but often the very strength we really, truly need is of a sort that we don't nor can possess in and of ourselves. I do recommend as much bucking up as a man or woman can buck up, yet we find ourselves facing things that make us realize we are out of buck and down with up.

How many times did God encourage Joshua? I think of Joshua 1:9, which says, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

And there you have it... the curtains of heaven are peeled back and we see the saints' muscles... "...for the Lord your God is with you..." There's my Strength when my strength is gone. There's my Strength if my strength is ever useful.

Being so weak, my motivation for being strong is that He is Strong.

As Maltbie D. Babcock wrote in his poem-turned-hymn, "Be Strong!"

"Be strong!

We are not here to play, to dream, to drift;

We have hard work to do and loads to lift;

Shun not the struggle, face it, ’tis God’s gift.

Be strong, be strong, be strong!

"Be strong!

Say not the days are evil—who’s to blame?

And fold the hands and acquiesce—O shame!

Stand up, speak out, and bravely, in God’s name.

Be strong, be strong, be strong!

"Be strong!

It matters not how deep entrenched the wrong,

How hard the battle goes, the day, how long;

Faint not, fight on! Tomorrow comes the song.

Be strong, be strong, be strong!"

May we find Strength for our strength. Be strong; He's Strong. Buck up; God's got you, Tim Bowes.