Isaiah 17:9
“In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough,
and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of
Israel: and there shall be desolation.”
I was sitting on the plane next to a man who used to be a
professional bodybuilder, and we discussed how quickly a person loses
strength. As we both talked about how often we exercise, one thing that
we both concluded was how quickly you lose strength if you stop lifting
weights.
The verse above discusses how the strong cities became weak. These
were cities that once used to be the strongholds of Israel. These were
cities everyone ran to for safety in the day of battle; yet, they became
weak. These cities were no longer the cities people relied on for
safety. These cities became weaklings. There were two reasons these
cities lost their strength and became weak.
First, they became weak because they forgot God. No, they didn't
leave God, they forgot Him. How quickly Christians can become spiritual
weaklings when they forget God. You must never get to the point in your
Christian life when you think you can do God’s work alone. You must
never start your day without God. The quickest way to become a spiritual
weakling is to forget God.
Second, they became weak because they had “not been mindful of the rock of thy strength.”
In other words, they stopped considering what God would want as they
went throughout their day. Do you make decisions without asking yourself
how God feels about the decision? Strong Christians become weak
Christians when they make decisions without considering God’s desires.
Spiritual weaklings are Christians who are not mindful or aware of God
in their lives.
If these two things cause a Christian to become spiritually weak,
what must we do to gain spiritual strength? First, start your day off
remembering God by reading His Word and praying. Don't get so busy with
life that you forget to read God’s Word. You may not think it makes that
much of a difference, but God’s Word is like a spiritual workout. God’s
Word has a way of strengthening the Christian for what they are going
to face that day. Likewise, prayer is just as much a part of the
spiritual workout as reading the Scriptures. You gain spiritual strength
by simply talking to God to start your day. I know you have a busy
schedule and have to leave early in the morning to go to work, but you
will gain much spiritual strength if you get up a little earlier to
spend time in prayer with God.
Second, always be aware of God throughout your day if you want to
stay spiritually strong. Before you look at anything, ask yourself if
God would want you to look at it. Before you go somewhere, ask yourself
if God would want you to be there. Before you start any projects, take
thirty-seconds to whisper a prayer to God for His help. Before you enter
a conversation, ask God to help you say the right things. If you want
to be spiritually strong, you must be aware and mindful of God in all
that you do.
Just like a person who stops working out for a short time loses
strength, so the Christian becomes a spiritual weakling by missing one
or two days with God. Don't be a spiritual weakling. Pray, read God’s
Word daily and be aware of God throughout your day so you can stay
spiritually strong.