3 Keys to Spiritual Strength

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No one wants to be weak. Every follower of Jesus wants to be strong. But not every follower of Jesus is strong! I had a long season of profound spiritual weakness. I wandered in and out of spiritual health.

There came a moment of change when spiritual strength became a reality in my life. And since that moment, I have remained steady and consistent. When I reflect on that moment and ask myself what changed, I identified three keys to spiritual strength.

These keys are simple but not always easy. But once you put them in place, you will be spiritually strong and healthy and you will grow!

3 Keys:

Commitment. I call this “Settling the question.” You must go past a weak yes and into an “all-in, nothing held back” yes. Settling the question is a journey from “I’ll try” to “I’ll do.” It is the absolute and total giving of ourselves to God. Here you will make an absolute commitment to the most important spiritual disciplines: Bible reading, prayer, worship and fellowship. If you truly want spiritual strength, you must start with commitment.

Consistency. After you make a commitment you must be consistent. You cannot really be consistent until you have settled the question. Consistency means that following Jesus is your only priority. Every day you read your Bible and pray, without fail! You must be in regular – and by that I mean at least once a week – fellowship with other followers. The best time to do this for most of us is in weekend worship services.

No compromise. Compromise breaks the back of spiritual strength. Once you settle the question the biggest challenges to your consistency are not going to be areas of sin (although temptation will come) but will be in areas that are good and essential to your life. Consider the pull of just these five things that are good for us in many ways: family, work, entertainment, recreation and education. Many family events take place on the weekend. You cannot neglect worship to attend. You need to ask them to reschedule – and by all means never should you schedule a family event to interfere with worship.

Compromise is the most difficult thing to overcome. This is the one thing that will test you and requires much prayer. Every good thing in your life can remain but never can they compromise your commitment and consistency.

The Power You Need to Succeed

Because these three things are challenging, you must have the power of God to help you. Commitment must be expressed in deep prayer. It cannot be a flippant casual conversation you have with God but must be heart-felt and sincere. Make sure you count the cost before committing. And be assured of this reality: when you give all of yourself to God, he gives all of himself to you – and he has a lot more to give than you do.

Consistency is also powered by God in prayer. The more you pray and commit, the more consistent you become. Will there be days that you miss your prayer and Bible reading? There will but they will become more infrequent with time. Circumstances, illness and emergencies can upset consistency but when the spiritual disciplines you commit to become spiritual delights you will find that you rarely miss. I generally only miss four or five days a year.

Pray also that God empowers you to eliminate compromise from your life. You may face opposition and even ridicule as you do this but your ‘no compromise’ approach to following Jesus will not only make you spiritually strong but be a powerful witness.

Today, settle the question. This is the most important step for your spiritual strength and growth. Then share these keys with your family and friends so they can experience spiritual strength as well!