Scripture: 1 Peter 1:1-12
Have you ever been swimming in the ocean? As you begin to walk in from the beach your feet feel the sand beneath you changing from warm and dry to cool and moist. Traveling out into the water you begin to feel the waves as they approach. At first they are gentle against your body, but as you pursue your journey out into the ocean they become more harsh. The need to fight and pull strength from other parts of your body is realized. Continuing on past the harsh breaking waves, your body becomes immersed yet the waves continue to come. However, the newly recognized strength you discovered through the breaking waves now serve as a means to keep you afloat. The waves, though you feel the impact of their strength, do not take you under because this strength and learned technique keeps your head above water.As Christians, when we first come to Christ we feel His warmth surrounding us. Our hearts are excited and we can't wait to do more for Him. As we begin our journey with Christ, Satan is furious. He has lost the fight for us but he doesn't want us to influence anyone else to become a believer. He begins to send waves of trials our way. They may be gentle at first, but as we persevere through those trials his artillery becomes harsher and more fierce. He starts firing off darts full of trials that he has carefully schemed to knock us off the track of growing closer to Christ and bringing others to Him. As Satan begins to send even harsher waves, to persevere we must not fail to recognize the strength our Father has given us. We must pull from His strength to keep our head above water. Ultimately by doing so we will begin to let Jesus be the power behind our muscles – keeping our head above water. Even though we still see the waves and still feel the effects of them, Satan will not be able to overcome us because he cannot overcome the strength of Jesus.
As Christians, we are living in the hope of our salvation. We have accepted Christ and believe in Him. Though we have not seen Him, we trust Him and know that He has redeemed us from our sins. Through this faith we have hope in Him and Him alone. He is the only One who can pull us through these trials here on earth and ultimately the only One Who will save us from the fires of Hell taking us with Him to heaven. With this hope in mind, we must remember that our Saviour is with us always. He doesn't just show up in the end to whisk us off to heaven. He is here with us providing strength and comfort through the Holy Spirit. Strength that will take us through Satan's breaking waves and ultimately keep our heads above water when we are in the deep. Through our hope in Jesus and His strength we can overcome anything!!
Are you going through trials right now? Do you feel like you are loosing ground and the water is about to rise up above your head? Then pull from the strength of Jesus. Through Him you can overcome. He is our Hope of Salvation – not only for our souls, but for our moment by moment trials as well.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, my heart reaches for Your strength today. Help me to overcome the trials in my life. Help me to remember to pull strength from You. It's only through Your strength that I will overcome. Amen.
So Now What?
How do I pull from the strength of Jesus? We talk about pulling from Jesus' strength but how is that done? It begins by studying and reading God's Word. Within the Scriptures you will find the artillery you need to fight Satan during the trials of your life. Daily stay in the Word of God. Apply the lessons you learn to your life and yield to the Holy Spirit. You will persevere. You will prevail!! 
