Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

And for those of you visiting for the first time I say welcome! I post every Wednesday and my purpose is to nourish your soul that you may live a powerful life on earth.

Over and over again we are taught in the Word to be strong in the Lord. We are told: do not fear, do not be discouraged (in other words, don't let courage get away from you!), do not despair, do not look down.

How do we strengthen ourselves in the Lord?

Let's look at its physical parallel: We strengthen our bodies by putting a demand on them. If we want to increase muscle mass, we lift heavier weights than we are used to. If we want to run faster, we pick up the speed until our lungs are screaming back at us. If we want stronger bones, we do weight-bearing exercises that push us beyond what's comfortable.

To strengthen ourselves in the Lord is to build ourselves up in faith. And to build ourselves up in faith, is to exercise our spiritual muscle, one step at a time; it's to put a demand on our belief system (a Bill Johnson phrase) by stepping out and expecting God to be true.