Undaunted.Life: A Man's DevotionalSample

SPIRITUAL, Day 3: True Strength

As men, we are often judged by our physical strength. It may be while lifting in the weight room or helping a buddy move, but there are many points where our might is questioned or evaluated. There have likely been many points in your life where your physical strength and prowess was put in the context of a competition…

“…I bet you can’t do more push-ups than I can…”

“…Wanna arm wrestle?...”

“…Watch how far I can throw this…”

Yes, it’s true that most men default to thinking of a man’s strength in terms of their physical appearance or performance. However, as Disciples of Christ we should be reminded that simply looking at the size of a guy’s biceps is not a great way to determine how strong he is holistically.

In his letter to the church in the ancient city of Ephesus, the Apostle Paul addresses many different social, societal, and church issues that the Ephesian Christians were dealing with. The inhabitants of Ephesus were known for having a deep interest in magic and the occult. This interest led many Ephesians to believe that the supreme power in the world could come from a number of otherworldly sources.

As you can imagine, this made the environment that Ephesian Christians were trying to operate in rather problematic. Furthermore, it became increasingly more difficult for many of these believers to maintain their faith in the reality of the power of God and Christ’s resurrection because they were constantly surrounded by individuals and entities that claimed their deity, spirit, or ceremony was supreme to theirs.

This is likely why Paul emphasized the following two massive themes in his letters to the Ephesians:

1. Jesus’ positioning as the head of the body of Christ for all of time.

2. The exclusivity and dominance of God’s power over all heavenly realms and powers.

In today’s reading from Ephesians chapter three, we see where Paul is praying for spiritual strength for the Christ followers in Ephesus. Specifically, he is desperate for these people to be made powerful through the Holy Spirit inhabiting their bodies.

Now, if Paul’s main concern was that these Christians were going to be deeply influenced and affected by their surroundings, why didn’t he just pray for their bodies to be strengthened? Surely having stronger backs and legs would have helped them to be able to stand up to outside influences or falsehoods, right?

Wrong. Some fights require physical strength and resilience, sure, but big muscles cannot help us with every battle. Paul knew this well. As men, we must work to depend on the source of our spiritual strength: Christ alone.

What parts of Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians is easy for you to embrace? What parts are difficult for you?