Supernatural Strength by Ed Young
I can’t explain how it happens, but it happens. So you have got a 100 percent deal going on. The Good Shepherd says, here is My plan, here is My path, here is My agenda for you. Admit, submit, obey and pray.
A while back I wanted to come up with something that I could get my hands around regarding this whole path thing. I want to share with you my path principle. The Good Shepherd wants to guide and lead you and me into paths of righteousness and here are four things that we have to do in order to stay with the Shepherd. This is an acrostic. P stands for persevere. I love the word persevere because the word severe is in the word persevere. Things are going to get severe as we track along the path that Christ has for us. It is going to get tough. And look what the Bible says. Romans 15:4. “Through perseverance and the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.” What is perseverance? It simply means blasting through barriers. Are you at a barrier? Are you facing a marital barrier? Are you facing a financial barrier? Are you facing a career barrier? You need perseverance. When you add perseverance, God will give you supernatural strength and grace to blast through the barrier and to continue to track with the Good Shepherd.
A stands for attitude. Philippians 2:5. “Have this attitude in yourself which was also in Christ Jesus.” You see it is our attitude not our aptitude that determines our altitude. And the picture here is a shepherd leading his flock slowly through the valleys to the mountaintop. So it is our attitude not our aptitude that determines our altitude. Now what kind of attitude did Christ have? Was it self-centered? Was it ego-driven? No. It was other-centered. It was service-driven. It was generosity. It was supernatural. And that is the kind of attitude that me must have as part of His flock.
Ed Young says “They have that home. They drive that car. They are a member of that club. I am just as educated, I’m just as smart, I’m just as young, I need that, I want that.”
