STRENGTH
BY LARRY DOYLE CRENSHAW
MeditationsInLight.Blogspot.com
Perhaps today or
tomorrow a situation will arise that will require a demonstration of our
strength of purpose and character. Our increasingly
complex lives require that we have strength - strength that we may derive from
the Lord. Isaiah asks us in chapter 40 starting in verse 28:
28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the
everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not,
neither is weary? there is no
searching of his understanding.
29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them
that have no might he increaseth strength...........
.....
31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their
strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be
weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
There are two types of strength.
Dr. Harold Phillips, an
old Baptist preacher once said it this way, “There is the strength of the wind
that sways the mighty oak, and there is the strength of the oak that withstands
the power of the wind.
There are two kinds of strength.
There is the strength of
the locomotive that pulls the heavy train across the bridge, and there is the
strength of the bridge that holds up the weight of the train."
One is the active
strength of a powerful lion; the other is the passive strength of the prophet
Daniel in the lions' den - leading some to speculate that maybe, just maybe,
the lions were actually in Daniel's den.
There are
two kinds of strength.
One is the active
strength of a Winston Churchill in the Second World War when he rallied his
countrymen and the British Empire to fight and "never
surrender." The other, a few years later,
is the passive strength of a quiet, non-violent Gandhi that brought that same
British Empire to its knees and won independence for India.
There are
two kinds of strength.
One is the strength of
the 2,000 Sons of Helaman, who, fighting against overwhelming odds, conquer the
enemy with the strength of arms and conviction. The other is the 2,000 Fathers
of the Sons of Helaman who, in the strength of their convictions and
integrity kept their oath not to take up arms.
I quote the old preacher
again, "There are two kinds of strength.
One is the power to keep going; the other is the power to keep
still. One is the strength by which we
overcome; the other is the strength by which we endure".
May we wait upon the
LORD (who) shall renew (our) strength; (May we)
mount up with wings as eagles; that we may run, and not be weary; and
walk, and not faint. . . . May we
reach into our souls and draw upon reserves of both kinds of strength as we
work out our salvation in faith.
This week’s meditative
verse explores the premise that, “There are two kinds of strength.”
Strength
And see that all these things are done in wisdom and
order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has
strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby
he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order.
Book of Mormon Mosiah 4:27
There are two kinds of strength we are told
One passive, like trees, that withstand the storms
Another active, like storms, blowing fierce and bold
Each strengthens, builds character, and transforms
There is the passive strength of standing firm
When, on principle, we choose not to fight
And the active strength of arms we affirm
When we choose to fight with all our might
It is not requisite we run faster than our ability
Or beyond what strength or wisdom would advise
But race with diligence, persistence and stability
And thereby win the race and the winners’ prize
For the prize is not just bestowed on one
But on all, not only first or second place
The prize is won when our best is done
And we all win, if we only finish the race
Therefore, lets us find strength
In both the passive and active sense
Receiving power and glory at length
Through Christ’s atoning recompense
Larry Doyle Crenshaw
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