Strong and Steady in God Our Strength

Today, let’s return to that prophetic word about Joseph:

Skilled archers have bitterly attacked and sorely worried him; they have shot at him and persecuted him. But his bow remained strong and steady and rested in the Strength that does not fail him, for the arms of his hands were made strong and active by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob, by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel. (Genesis 49:23–24)

The enemy bitterly attacked Joseph, but he remained strong. He did not stay strong because of his own strength or what someone else did for him. He stayed strong in the Strength that never failed him. He remained strong in God. He grew over his walls by adopting a heavenly perspective rather than an earthly one. The result was a multitude of blessings for him, his family, and the world. No matter what came at him, no matter what limitations tried to shut him down, no matter what things tried to oppress him, he remained strong in the strength of “the Rock of Israel.”

You will find the same strength in the Lord when you draw close to Him in the face of your unmovable mountain or impenetrable wall. No matter what comes against you, you are not going to become weary. You’re going to grow stronger and stronger because God is going to supernaturally sustain you. The more you progress, learning to stand in that place of victory, the more your breakthrough will emerge.

All the Way Through

It won’t always be easy. You will have to pray through matters, you will need to stand on and speak God’s Word, and you will have to call on the name of Jesus. But because God is unstoppable, He’s going to bring you all the way through your situation. You’re not going to give up halfway. You’re not going to lie down and quit. Instead, you will “arise [from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you—rise to a new life]!” and you will “shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord)” (Isaiah 60:1)!

Because of God’s transforming power and grace at work in your life, you may come to a point where, suddenly, you can’t even remember who you formerly were in your weakness or distress. It’s similar to what happens when the trees begin to have fresh growth in the spring. Every day, the trees are developing new leaves and buds, and we don’t always notice that growth occurring. Then, all of a sudden, we see the green leaves on the trees and the beautiful blossoms opening up on their branches.

You live your breakthrough little by little. After you’ve spent time in God’s presence, stood strong on His Word, and been transformed, a spiritual authority will be established in your life that you didn’t previously have. My greatest breakthroughs have not happened when someone has laid hands on me in prayer, as important as those times are. They happened when I was alone in a room, calling out to God in the midst of my need and standing on His Word.

Tried and Tested by the Word

Read what Psalm 105 says about Joseph:

He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold as a servant. His feet they hurt with fetters; he was laid in chains of iron and his soul entered into the iron, until his word [to his cruel brothers] came true, until the word of the Lord tried and tested him. (Psalm 105:17–19)

God’s promise to Joseph “tried and tested” him through the same process I’ve been describing in this devotional. There will be times in your life when the word that God has given you will test your heart in the sense that the natural doesn’t line up with what the word says. Joseph was planted by the wall, and that wall remained, day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year. But, all during that time, Joseph’s spiritual roots were growing deep and strong.

God has a way of strengthening your root system when life looks the darkest. He has a way of causing your roots to go deeper when the struggle is hardest because you’re more dependent on Him. You recognize your need for Him, you seek Him, you call out to Him, and your roots go to a greater depth. A breakthrough is happening that no one else can yet see.

When it looks like nothing is changing, you are changing! Again, the wall might not be moving, but you’re moving. You’re going deeper in God’s presence. You’re going deeper in the Word. You’re going deeper in the anointing. And the deeper your roots go, the higher the tree can go.

The parable of the mustard seed describes God’s kingdom as something that starts very small but grows expansively:

The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field. Of all the seeds it is the smallest, but when it has grown it is the largest of the garden herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and find shelter in its branches. (Matthew 13:31–32)

God’s kingdom is mighty, unshakable, and unstoppable, and it is working in you! No matter what your weakness is, whether it’s overeating, discouragement, anxiety, or anything else, nothing is more powerful than the kingdom of God within you. Nothing is more powerful than God’s presence, grace, and Word in your life. You will have total breakthrough, total transformation, total healing, total freedom in Jesus Christ.