Strength for They Who Have NoneSample

My entire life, I have suffered several attacks on my health - nothing serious, thank God, but attacks that are debilitating, uncomfortable, and sometimes set you back in your faith and spirit. This was one of the cases. The sermons I prepare are usually prepared in advance, two to three days before, but not without God bringing inspiration from long before. I was already sure of the message that God wanted to send to his people. I was familiar with the subject and was sure it would be a great blessing to all of us. What I did not expect was God's plan that He wanted me to preach through the pain, discomfort, and weakness.

I teach my speakers to never preach a message they have not lived. When you preach from experience, it is the best message that anyone will hear; one that comes from a very real place. And although I have gone through health attacks in my 43 years of life, I never found myself faced with the task of preaching through one. The last time something like this happened to me was 20 years ago when I had to go to work on the street, during a very cold winter month, in the snow, with a fever and body aches. Back then, it was necessary to survive. But this time I was able to understand this biblical text from a different perspective.

The Mathematics of the Kingdom of Heaven

We have learned that 2 x 2 is 4... 4 x 2 is 8... it is the first multiplication table that every child learns. In my country, the island of Puerto Rico (maybe in your country as well) they formed a song around this multiplication table to help children learn it. The famous “Brinca la Tablita” is still in the traces of our memories. In this biblical text, there are two mathematical formulas. The first is Addition.

Adding is relatively easy. 1 plus 1 is 2, 10 plus 10 is 20, 1000 plus 500 is 1500, and so on. In the first part, God says that he adds strength to he who is tired. We have no problems with this. Because, logically, it makes sense. When the car is out of gas, you add fuel to make it run. When your savings account is low, you add money to increase it. If you are hungry, then eat, and that's how that problem is solved. If you are tired, trust that God will add the strength to you to continue to move forward.

How wonderful it is to know that God takes us into account even when we feel weak or tired. I know that maybe you are reading this because you are about to give up and throw in the towel. Perhaps you no longer have the courage or desire to move forward in life, family, ministry, etc. You've been running on empty for so long, and you don't know what to do. There are several things I can comfort you with, but the best comfort comes from the Holy Spirit and the Word of the Lord. And here is a promise that he will add strength to you if you feel tired and that you can't take it anymore. In other words, if you feel tired, there is strength for you! The solution is not to give up, not to run, but to stand firm and trust in this promise.

So far we are fine and understand what is happening. But it's not until we get to part two of the passage that we find ourselves in an episode of the Twilight Zone. Let me explain the next day of the devotional.