{"id":11888,"date":"2024-10-30T23:05:26","date_gmt":"2024-10-30T16:05:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=11888"},"modified":"2024-10-30T23:05:26","modified_gmt":"2024-10-30T16:05:26","slug":"the-secret-to-spiritual-strength","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=11888","title":{"rendered":"The Secret to Spiritual Strength"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s play a quick game \u2013 Name the first three books of the Bible that come to mind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I tested this out on a few people in my life and loved hearing their responses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My close friend: Matthew, Mark, and Luke\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My mom: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My husband: Psalms\u2026uh uh\u2026Acts and\u2026\u2026\u2026James!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you ask someone this same question, I\u2019m willing to bet that Nehemiah will not be among the first three listed.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is exactly why I want to spend some time discussing the book \u2013 and person \u2013 of Nehemiah.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While revisiting this book, I was inspired by his example of obedience and amazed by his spiritual strength. His story is often overlooked, but it stands as a testament to the strength that comes from full reliance on God.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First off, what is spiritual strength? There\u2019s a great quote from American Basketball Coach John Wooden that sums it up well. He said, \u201cPhysical strength is measured by what one can carry; spiritual strength by what one can bear.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As sons and daughters of God, we are under constant attack from satan. There is nothing the creep wants more than to make us spiritually weak by hitting us with blow after blow after blow until we can bear no more. This is why building our spiritual strength is so important, and Nehemiah shows us one powerful way to do it: <\/span><b>relying on God.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the things I love about Nehemiah is that he was just an \u201cordinary\u201d guy. The Bible (especially the Old Testament) is filled with prophets, priests, and kings who God uses in remarkable ways to advance his Kingdom. But Nehiamiah is a reminder that God also uses ordinary people living their ordinary lives. People like you and me!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nehemiah worked in the palace as cupbearer to the Persian king. This was actually a significant title, since it allowed him to personally speak with the King. When he is told that the wall of Jerusalem was destroyed, though, he calls out to God with a heart of humility and submission. He feels called to lead a group back to Jerusalem to help rebuild the wall. So, without a second thought, he leaves this respected position.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Can you imagine that? Leaving behind a job that is reputable and enjoyable for one that is dangerous and difficult?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As he led the rebuilding of the city wall, opponents quickly arose. On SEVERAL occasions, enemies attempted to stop the work. They ridiculed Nehemiah, tried to discourage the workers, and planned attacks on the city.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How did Nehemiah respond to the threats? <strong>By stating his confidence in God.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When leaders of surrounding nations mocked him, he simply said:<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe God of heaven will give us success\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nehemiah 2:20<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When the workers learned of an upcoming attack against them, he encouraged them, saying:<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cDon\u2019t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nehemiah 4:14<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The wall of Jerusalem had been in ruin for over 100 years. But, because of Nehemiah\u2019s reliance on God, he led the people to rebuild it in only 52 days! Not only was the city once again protected by a wall, but the enemies <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Nehemiah+6%3A15-16&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">recognized the power of God<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The same thing can happen in our daily lives. When we rely on God to help us through times of trouble, He equips us with spiritual strength that sends our enemies running in fear.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is one area of your life where you can rely more fully on God?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-71090 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/faithfulworkouts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/FW-Author-Image-300x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"189\" height=\"189\" srcset=\"https:\/\/faithfulworkouts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/FW-Author-Image-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/faithfulworkouts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/FW-Author-Image-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/faithfulworkouts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/FW-Author-Image-50x50.png 50w, https:\/\/faithfulworkouts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/FW-Author-Image-100x100.png 100w, https:\/\/faithfulworkouts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/FW-Author-Image.png 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 189px) 100vw, 189px\"\/>Abbey holds a degree in journalism from Indiana University. Her favorite topics to cover are spiritual development, nutrition, and the importance of community and connection. Currently, she and her husband live in Michigan where she works in active ministry. In her free time you\u2019ll likely find her nose deep in a book, leading group fitness classes, or experimenting in the kitchen.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script  type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\t\t\t\t!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n\t\t\t\t\tn.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;\n\t\t\t\t\tn.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n\t\t\t\t\tt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,\n\t\t\t\t\tdocument,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n\t\t\t<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/faithfulworkouts.com\/nehemiahs-secret-to-strength-reliance\/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=nehemiahs-secret-to-strength-reliance\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Let\u2019s play a quick game \u2013 Name the first three books of the Bible that come to mind.\u00a0 \u00a0 I tested this out on a few people in my life and loved hearing their responses.\u00a0 My close friend: Matthew, Mark, and Luke\u00a0 My mom: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus\u00a0 My husband: Psalms\u2026uh uh\u2026Acts and\u2026\u2026\u2026James!\u00a0 \u00a0 If you &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fitness"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11888\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}