21 Days

Day 3- Strength

Author: Emily Hanks

There have been moments in my life where I have thought, “I’m not sure how I am going to survive this. I am not strong enough to handle this.” Have you been there, too? And yet here we are today in a brand new year, with a fresh start, and all new possibilities! How is it possible to feel so weak and yet have unexplainable strength rise up inside you?

When Paul is pleading with the Lord to rid him of the thorn in his flesh, the Lord says to him, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul goes on then to say, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10) 

When we tap into the power that is available to us through Christ, we realize there is a strength within us that is more powerful than we can imagine - it is Christ in us. We can rest in that, knowing there will always be strength for whatever comes.

PRAYER

Thank you, God, that you give strength to us when we are weary and that there is an increase of power when we are weak. Jesus, YOU are our strength. We give up trying to do things in our own might and instead we choose to trust the strength that is promised in you. Thank you for your unfailing love and power!

Isaiah 40:29 - He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 

Ephesians 6:10 - Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Psalm 28:7-8 - The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. The LORD is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.

Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

Day 2- Repentance

Author: Josiah Crocker

Repentance leads to joy. 

In Acts 3:19, Peter tells the crowd to “Repent, and turn to God… that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” In 2 Corinthians 7:10, Paul talks about “repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret.” In this verse, Paul also talks about two different attitudes toward repentance: godly sorrow and worldly sorrow. Worldly sorrow is trying to force a sorrowful feeling while asking God to forgive you. Godly sorrow is listening for the Holy Spirit’s conviction to repent and turn away from sin. As Paul says, “godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” 

Psalm 51 is an example of godly sorrow and repentance. The context of this chapter is David repenting after God sent the prophet Nathan to convict David of his sin. Nathan is the physical representation of the Holy Spirit convicting David, and this leads to David repenting. Yet, in verse 8, David asks for the joy that comes after repenting.  

We need to be listening for the Holy Spirit, and when he convicts us, we should repent. Only when the Holy Spirit convicts us will we feel the joy and freedom that comes from repenting. 

PRAYER

Lord, lead me by your Holy Spirit. Reveal to me the ways I can hear him, and help me to obey. Lead me to repent by your Spirit, for only he can bring the joy and freedom after. Amen.

Read: Acts 3:19, 2 Corinthians 7:9-10, Psalm 51:1-8

Acts 3:19 : “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from Lord.”

2 Corinthians 7:9-10 : “Yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”

Psalm 51:1-8 : For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.”