Day 18: Strengthened for Life, Strengthened for War
“And the LORD will continually guide you,
And satisfy your desire in scorched places,
And give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.”
God wants to give strength to your bones. What exactly does this mean and how does it apply to your life?
Your bones are the structure upon which your body lives. Life literally comes from your bones. Blood is life. It is in your bones that blood is created. The marrow in your bones is critical to your immune system. God is saying He will strength the deep places within you where life is produced, and where immunity against the ills of life is created.
The imagery an Israelite would quickly see in the words “He will strengthen…” is that of being girded or equipped for war. This is the kind of strengthening God wants to give you. He wants you to war, so you can win. This is a strength that wins over oppression, worry, and exhaustion. How do we overcome? We overcome, not only by the blood of the Lamb and the word our testimony (Revelation 12:11), but we win because somewhere deep within us God has created a spring of life. The will to win takes over because the core of your identity has been transformed by knowing and loving your Savior. Isaiah beautifully introduces us to this “Behold; God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the Lord God is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation. Therefore you will joyously draw water from the wells of salvation.” Isaiah 12:2, 3
“Not only will God strengthen what gives you life—your bones, He will equip you for the war you are in”
Not only will God strengthen what gives you life—your bones, He will equip you for the war you are in. God will strengthen you to go back to those places once scorched with fire and retake the territory the enemy meant to destroy.
As you read this next scripture, keep in mind what place this message speaks into:
“Do not remember (dwell or keep calling to mind) the former things, Or ponder (give your full attention to) the things of the past. Listen carefully, I am about to do a new thing. Now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even put a road in the wilderness, (an economy of life), rivers in the desert, (life that pours over a barren place), the beasts of the field will honor Me, jackals and ostriches, because I have given waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen. The people whom I formed for Myself (God has not made you for the world, but for himself) will make known My praise.” Isaiah 43:18, 19
Today is a day to praise God. Today is a day to believe again.
God’s plan for you is to heal what was scorched, to open a heavenly spring of life, to strengthen your bones for health and for war, to water a barren place so much so that a lush garden begins to grow. God wants to give life, beauty, fruit, and supply for those who come in and out of your life.
I will give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.