God = Strength

You are my strong fortress, and you set me free.

2 Samuel 22:33 (CEV)

When Navy Pilot Captain Gerald Coffee was shot down and captured in Vietnam, he was taken to a prison where he spent seven years in solitary confinement—in a small cell all by himself. Broken, tortured, starved, he endured terrible times in that tiny cell. But someone before him scratched into his cell wall the words: “God = Strength.”

Those words helped inspire him. He survived and spoke of the reason why.

“Faith was the key to my survival,” Coffee said. As he prayed to God constantly, God gave him the mental and physical toughness to survive. He even tried to use the time to grow as a person. He exercised in his small space. And he and his fellow prisoners created a special messaging system where they could talk to each other by tapping on the walls. Through it, they taught each other things, like poetry, science, and Bible verses.

In today’s verse, a man named David talks about the strength God gave him to help him win battles. When a warrior puts their trust in God, they are never alone because God is always with them, helping them.

God will help you and your family, too, through good times and bad times. He will give your whole family the strength to get through. Don’t forget: God = Strength!

SPIRITUAL FITNESS TRAINING

Veterans have all kinds of amazing stories of how God helped them through difficult situations. Ask a Veteran you know to tell you about their story! Then thank God for the strength he gives you each day.

PRAY

Lord, it’s hard to fight battles in life, and I worry. Thank you for giving me strength.

KEEP IT GOING

Related passages: These additional verses will help you expand Scriptural knowledge and place on the armor of God’s Word to tackle each day. Swipe to read the passages today.

2 Samuel 22:30–35

Psalm 144:1

1 Corinthians 1:25

2 Thessalonians 2:16–17