We know what it feels like when our strength drains away like the battery of our cell phones. Every day requires its own expenditure of energy, and by 6:10 p.m. we’re operating on low power while scrambling to get dinner on the table and start the evening. As we think of the challenges we’ve faced during the day, we wonder where we’ll find the strength to do it all over tomorrow.

Why didn’t the Lord give us an endless supply of energy? Earlier generations tried to invent perpetual motion machines. What if God had built perpetual motion inside us? Or longer-lasting batteries? I sometimes wonder if angels grow weary and need rest. I wonder if we’ll have to replenish our strength in New Jerusalem or if our energy will be perpetual. Our resurrection bodies will be patterned after Christ’s, so I don’t expect to battle fatigue in heaven like I sometimes do now. But until then we must learn to manage life in His strength, not in our own.

As we come to 6:10 p.m. each day, let’s remember Ephesians 6:10: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” When battling weakness or fatigue, I want to encourage you to think about the strength you need, the God you serve, and the commandments He gives.

The Strength You Need

My friend, Robert J. Morgan, wrote a book entitled The Strength You Need: The Twelve Great Strength Passages of the Bible. I read every single word of his book and underlined many parts of it. It gave me this needed reminder: In an age when Christians seem to be suffering from major power outages, we can find the strength we need through the power of God’s Word.

In his book, Rob wrote about his wife, Katrina, and her struggle with multiple sclerosis. Both Rob and Katrina often found themselves drained. One day after they saw the words “extra strength” on a pill bottle, they decided to find out what the Bible had to say about extra strength.

They found more than 200 references on this subject in the Bible and selected a dozen specific verses as their own sources of extra strength, and those texts are applicable to us all. Here’s a sample: God has promised strength equal to our days (Deuteronomy 33:25), His eyes range throughout the world to strengthen those committed to Him (2 Chronicles 16:9), He strengthens us with all power in our inner selves through His Spirit (Ephesians 3:16), and we can do all things through Him who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).

The God You Serve

We draw the strength we need from the God we serve. We have to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Ephesians 6:10 doesn’t say, “Be strong in yourself and in the power of your own might.” We must draw energy from Him.

In times like these, we need to be stronger husbands, stronger wives, and stronger people. We need stronger children, stronger families, stronger churches, and a stronger determination to tackle each day for good and for God. We need more stamina to tackle and finish the work God assigns us each day. We need the courage to bear our burdens without anxiety. That strength comes from the Lord.

We have a God who said, “Let there be light,” and the universe was flooded with light (Genesis 1:3). So He can certainly recharge your batteries.

He said, “Let there be a firmament,” and He created the sky (Genesis 1:6-7). He knows how to bring freshness into your bones and oxygen into your soul.

He said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb … the fruit tree” and suddenly the earth turned green (Genesis 1:11). He can help us thrive like trees planted by living waters bringing forth fruit in season.

We have a God who split the Red Sea, turned water to blood, and sent manna from heaven. He caused the walls of Jericho to fall, and He caused Jesus to rise from death. He is omnipotent. He can strengthen you, for the Bible promises, “The people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits” (Daniel 11:32).

The Bible says, “God … is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32). He “is able to make [you] stand” (Romans 14:4). He is “able to establish you” (Romans 16:25). He “is able to make all grace abound toward you” (2 Corinthians 9:8). He “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20). “He is able to aid those who are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18) and “to keep [us] from stumbling” (Jude 24).

He is able, and that’s why we are able to trust Him.

The Command He Gives

That’s why the words “be strong” are a commandment in the Bible. The phrase “be strong” occurs about forty times in the Bible, and the Lord expects us to claim the grace to keep His commandment. I want to give you some verses about this. Don’t scan over them and rush to the end. Take time to read each of these verses, maybe even aloud, so the full weight of these commands settles into your soul. I’ve listed them in the order they appear in Scripture.

• Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid … for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6).
• Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:9).
• Be strong and of good courage… for the Lord God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord (1 Chronicles 28:20).
• Be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded! (2 Chronicles 15:7)
• Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come…and save you (Isaiah 35:4).
• Be strong, yes, be strong! (Daniel 10:19)
• Be strong… be strong… be strong… and work; for I am with you (Haggai 2:4).
• Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong (1 Corinthians 16:13).
• Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10).
• Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 2:1).

Do you think the Lord is trying to tell us something? He makes available the strength we need from the God we serve, and He gives us a commandment about it to obey. He expects us to be strong in Him, in His power, in His promises, and in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We must choose His strength.

We spend so much time worrying about the outward man, and yet it’s the inward man, the real person that lives within us, our soul and spirit, that makes the difference. When you go through difficult times, it’s from the reservoir of your spiritual strength that you survive. It’s not really how well off you are physically. It’s from your spirit. I’ve pastored a church long enough to witness an endless parade of suffering—serious illnesses, sudden tragedies, unexpected losses, destroyed relationships, employment disruptions, parenting heartaches, financial strains. Some of these have crowded into my own life.

I can tell you as a Christian and as a pastor, it’s the joy of the Lord that fuels our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). It’s the strength of the Lord that gets us through. I can’t face a single day—not an hour or a moment—without the Lord’s strength. I can’t pursue the work He’s given me without His supernatural strengthening of the inner man. Without Him I can do nothing.

In times like these, your own strength will never suffice. It’s not natural energy we need but supernatural strength.

So set your soul to watch for God’s grace in your life as you learn to be strong in Him and in the power of His might. On the basis of Scripture, I can give you this promise for every day: In Christ you have the strength you need from the God you serve through the command He gives.