God’s Strength Through Me

Colossians 1:29 ESV

“For this I toil (to bring everyone to maturity in Christ), struggling with all His (Jesus’s) energy that He powerfully works within me.”

This was Paul’s heart, to work for the Lord, to bring people to maturity in Christ, not in his might but in Jesus’s might and power. The word struggle in this verse means; to strive, contend, or struggle intensely, like an athlete competing in a strenuous match or a warrior fighting in a battle. The word carries a sense of hard work, deep exertion, and fighting the enemy if necessary. Paul has trained for this fight, He has gained spiritual wisdom himself through Jesus, and now he wants to bring the church at Colossea to maturity as well so that they can work to mature others. Obviously, this is not coming easy, Paul is pouring his heart out to this church.

We find ourselves doing the same thing with others, we talk until we are blue in the face trying to bring others to maturity, but with Jesus, we have to know it is His power and His might that is strengthening us for the struggle ahead of us. We have to trust that Jesus is using our words and our witness to touch their hearts and lives. So many people are struggling day to day with the struggles of this life, they cannot see past their battles. We have to fight with them and for them in the name of Jesus. Never by the strength on our own, but with the power in us given to us by Jesus and the Holy Spirit to bring them to maturity.

Prayer: Lord, it’s not by might, nor by power, but by Your Spirit (Zechariah 4:6) that we will do Your work and touch lives for You. We rely on You Jesus. In Your name Lord Jesus, Amen!