In a particular village, a young man was told by his father to be careful anytime he sees an old man going to the farm early in the morning. According to the father, “the old man must not touch you on his way to the farm. If he does, something strange would happen.” The father went on to explain, “You would suddenly discover that you are weak all through the day.”
In that village, old men use charm on young people and transfer strength from them to go use on the farm. So they can work on the farm as long as they want, come back home looking fresh while their victims would be unexplainably weak. The lesson from this story is worth paying attention to today.
Friend, life is spiritual. Things are not normal, even in seemingly normal settings. You must not be ignorant (1 Corinthians 12:1). In Mathematics, Two plus Two equals Four, but not in real life. In life, Two plus Two is either greater than or less than Four, depending on the force(s) that are working for or against a man.
God wants you to exchange your strength for His strength. That is what means to renew your strength (Isaiah 40:31). This is the beauty of life in the Kingdom. We can simply exchange our strength (and weakness) for the strength of the omnipotent God. Whose strength are you using? Wise people don’t use their strength.
Like the old men in our opening story; the people of this world seem to be wiser than the children of light (Luke 16:8). They know how to deal in life. They have learnt to leverage superior power and intelligence. It is dangerous at these times to not leverage the power of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 40:28-31). It is dangerous to do business only with what you are taught in business school. It is dangerous to do Church only with what you read in books.
The place of prayers (particularly when combined with fasting) is the place of beautiful exchange (1 Corinthians 12:9). You exchange your weakness for God’s strength, your fear for faith, and your confusion for divine direction. Don’t run on your own this season. Tap into divine strength. Leverage God’s grace. You will succeed!
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria