“Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens” (Heb. 11:33-34).
There is an old saying which says, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Well that’s in the natural. In the Spirit, when the going gets tough, our faith gets going, and we get to operate in increasing strength.
Daniel is a good example. The Scripture says, “Who through faith…stopped the mouths of lions.” Now in Daniel’s case, there were people plotting to get rid of him. Even though he was innocent and did no wrong, he was thrown in the lion’s den. Do you know what a lion can do to a man? A lion can rip a man from limb to limb with one swipe.
Well Daniel is in that lion’s den, but he’s not worried about those lions. Why? Daniel has faith in God. Through faith he expected God’s power to be greater than the power of those lions. And it was just as he thought. God shut the lion’s mouths.
Are you getting a clear picture of what will release this spiritual endowment? It is through faith you release the power of God in your life.
• Through faith, they quenched the violence of fire.
• Through faith, they escaped the edge of the sword.
• Through faith, out of weakness they were made strong.
• Through faith, they waxed valiant in fight.
• Through faith, they turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
Notice it was through faith they where made strong, this means they had to progressively increase in spiritual strength. The more horrendous the threat, the more they believed God, and the more strength and power was manifested in their lives.
I will never forget the threat against my life when I went to minister in Pakistan. They threatened our lives for daring to preach Jesus in that country. The night before I was to minister, I went into prayer and the Lord said to me, “Son, being in my perfect will is the safest place you can ever be.”
In other words, He was telling me, His strength is stronger than their threats.
Well, we didn’t pack up and get on a plane because those terrorists said they were going to kill us. We stayed, finished our assignment, and thousands of Muslims got saved.
Continue to grow stronger and stronger in faith, increase in strength. When threats come against your life, it’s through faith you release the power of God to deliver you.
Scripture References: James 2:17-18; 2 Corinthians 5:7; Romans 1:16-17
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Keith Butler has been an ordained minister since 1974. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and holds diplomas from Canada Christian College and Rhema Bible Training Center.
He serves in ministry with the support of his lovely wife, Pastor Deborah L. Butler, and their children: Pastor Andre Butler (granddaughters Alexis, Angela, and April), Pastor MiChelle Ferguson and husband Pastor Lee (grandson Lucas), and Minister Kristina Jenkins and husband Pastor Joel (grandsons Andrew and Austin, and granddaughter Alyssa).