Loving God with All Our Strength
By Becky Hunter, August 31, 2007
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:5
I thought maybe I should evaluate how I’m doing with that Great Commandment:
Love the LORD my God with all my heart (YES, definitely!)
Love the LORD my God with all my soul (YES, absolutely!)
Love the LORD my GOD with all my strength…..(Ummmmm. Maybe most days?)
Do you, too, struggle most with that specific “strength” challenge of the Great Commandment? The high level of expectation many pastors’ wives sense that others have of us, as well as the high level of expectation we place on ourselves can exhaust us. Isn’t it ironic that the very pressure, to be strong, that we put on ourselves or feel from others, is itself a strength sapper?
Multiple vitamins are not going to provide us with the kind of strength the Bible is talking about here. Eating right and working out isn’t the be-all-end-all either. These things don’t hurt but they won’t get us to the goal expressed in this verse.
So how do we love God with all our strength?
We do whatever is the next right thing: We get along among ourselves, each of us doing our part. We warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. We are patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And are careful that when we get on each other’s nerves that we don’t snap at each other. We look for the best in each other, and always do our best to bring it out. 1 Thessalonians 5:13-15 (The Message)
May we get stronger daily as we serve God’s people and support our husband in ministry! I’m praying for you this weekend. And I hope you, will be praying, too, for pastors’ wives around the globe, when you sit down to worship with your church family. |
