THE VICTOR’S MENTALITY 4 (Your Source of Power)

 In the previous article, we started looking at the mentality of victors. I deduced from Ephesians 6:10-20 three important awarenesses we need to wear correctly if we will stay victorious:

1. Your source of power and the kind of power at work in you.
2. The kind of enemy that is trying to oppose you.
3. The armor to put on when the opposition comes.

Today, we will start with the first part:1. Your source of power and the kind of power that is at work in you.

Paul was talking about an heir who owns possessions in Galatians 4:1-2, but because he is a child and has not come to the awareness of what he possesses, he could not enjoy it by himself. Also, we must be aware of the kind of power that works in us so we can always leverage it—not just knowing the kind of power, but also the source. This is the first thing we must put on if we will stay a victor.

The Christian fight is not a fight to begin to do something extra, but to stay and remain in the freedom that Christ has given us. The devil will always come at you to trip you up, but you have to wear a mentality that will ensure you are grounded in your victory in Christ.

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and the power of His might”, Ephesians 6:10. To be strong in the Lord simply means that the Lord is the source of your strength. That is, you are using God’s strength, power, and resources to do life. And we all need to get to a point in life where we don’t see ourselves without strength. 

The AMPC version translates it this way: “In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides].” Whenever we see ourselves isolated from Christ, we will see weakness. The Bible says, “Be empowered through your union with Christ.” We need to learn how to always see ourselves as one with Him. As we go into the world, always assert and affirm that Christ is the source of our strength. In so doing, you will never see or think anything bigger than you because nothing is bigger than God.

Say this out loud: Christ is the source of my strength!

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song, I will praise Him”, Psalms 28:7. The word “strength” here has a very deep and broad meaning and application. It is translated in Hebrew as ‘Oz,’ which can mean force, security, boldness, might, and power. Unfortunately, when we talk about strength/power in the Christian faith, we limit it regarding spiritual strength/power alone. But God is also the author of natural/physical strength and power, which includes boldness, security, etc. He is the one who gave strength and vitality to the first man who was made. When God molded Adam, he was just ordinary clay. But when God’s breath encountered the clay, both physical and spiritual strength, power, and vitality Adam needed were infused into him.

God didn’t only give strength/vigor to the spirit man and the physical body of man. He also gave the strength needed for the soul—the fortitude of the mind. He gave the fortitude of the mind to bear up under exercises he was tried with. When God brought all the animals and plants to Adam to give them names, he named them accurately. We have more than 1.2 million species of animals known, and Adam was able to level up by naming all of them. The emotional intelligence he exhibited, such that he was not frustrated while naming all the animals, and the intelligence quotient he had, such that he could name them accurately, can only be sourced from Christ’s strength.

It is God’s strength and power that could set and reset your mind appropriately so that you think like Him and can bear up under different kinds of situations without losing faith and courage and without breaking down.

“Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong”, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NLT). Paul had some situations that were not comfortable and palatable for him. It could have drained him physically, emotionally, and spiritually, but God’s power was released to him through God’s word, which stabilized him. He said that he glories in his weakness. It is not the weakness that is the point of his focus. We will be missing the message he was trying to pass if the weakness is the point of focus. The reason he was glorying in his weakness is because that was the moment he was more aware of the might and the power of God.

When God wants to come through for a man, He dismantles his confidence in his strength and other places he is looking to for strength. He amputates that place where we have so much relied upon, just like Jacob. When you see everything not seeming to be working. Everywhere you have put hope in looks like it is closed; God is showing you something inside of you—it is His strength. It is not a time to be downtrodden and beat yourself; it is a time to rejoice because God’s power and grace are about to burst forth.

I hope to share more on this in the next article. Prayerfully meditate on these things.

Written by Peter Ayoola Fakeye