Do you ever wonder why at times it's so hard to walk up stairs? Physically there are obvious gravitational reasons. If we believe though, in our Christ-like minds and the power of Holy Spirit how is physical strength then interpreted? If you believe stories of people lifting cars off of people or even stories of the battles of King David then you know what I'm talking about.
The Bible says the joy of the Lord is our strength. (Nehemiah 8.10) Have you ever put that to the test? I'm willing to put a wager on the table and say that the next time you walk up stairs and it's physically hard for you to carry on, start running up the stairs and while you run laugh out loud. Every step you take shout out loud HA HA HA HO HO HE HA! With every step beat your body into submission and praise the Lord. Your body would submit to the joy of the Lord and receive strength from heaven. Your faith can prove this for you.
Now I'm not saying punch yourself in the chest and run up and down stairs until you collapse to prove Gods' strength. I can see the Lord using this kind of faith though to give us strength in hard times emotionally, mentally, and even physically. Our bodies can be burdens at times and we have the God given ability to be victorious over our bodies and the weakness therein because of what Christ did for us.
Sometimes we'll start to pray and suddenly we'll get distracted. Hunger will come grumbling at the door to your belly, a bathroom break will be calling your name or maybe that show you watched last night just won't leave it's impression from your brain. Perhaps the prayers for our families and friends are even distractions. Sometimes we get so caught up with the obvious needs of loved ones and so keep asking the Lord for favors. "Lord please save my son, protect my daughter, be with my mommy, heal my Daddy, mend my marriage, grant my grandparents long life", etc.
Our faith and determination is what becomes crucial in these times. Think about Jesus. How did he cope for 40 days and 40 nights in a desert without food or water? What do you think the first few days were like? Well the scriptures tell us it was pretty much hell. The devil was with him every step of the way until the Lord rebuked him. If the devil says Jesus can turn rocks to bread obviously it's a temptation to Jesus to eat something or the devil wouldn't have said it to begin with. Our Messiah rebuked Satan with the word of God and continued with his arduous journey in the wilderness commanding his body into submission to be closer to the Father. This is what we too must do when times in our lives get too hard to deal with.
Instead of complaining and grumbling about doing what we have to - why not laugh it off, get the joy, and realize that our situation is nothing for Christ to deal with? All things are possible because Jesus is more than capable of dealing with it. Our own strength has nothing to do with overcoming our own circumstances. The thorn in Paul's flesh was a good thing to the Lord; the sufficiency of God's grace is reason enough to be happy and rejoice in our Fathers abundance for our lives.
So remember the next time you hear yourself start complaining about your situation, no matter what it may be, the submitted body can do a lot more for you and the Lord then a grumbling lifeless corpse feeling sorry for itself. No wonder it's hard to climb stairs feeling like a bag of bones and a heap of flesh! The joy of the Lord "IS" your strength! Be happy for laughing out loud!
-Jezzadiah Giles
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