"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might."

Many of the difficult experiences we have in life are not random occurrences. Many of them were placed there by God. Satan, who is our enemy, is frequently the cause of our problems. He is constantly looking for the most effective means of convincing us to stop believing in the Lord and to sever our relationship with Him. By completely placing ourselves in the Lord's hands and employing His tools of war, we can defeat our adversary, who has already been defeated by Jesus on the cross.

Some of the strength we need to fight evil comes from what we've been through, what others say to us, and what we know to be true from the Bible. In the end, though, our power comes from God's great strength. Paul reminds Christians in his letter to the Ephesians that this power is what brought Jesus back from the dead (Ephesians 1:19-20). God can do much more through us than we could ever ask or think of (Ephesians 3:20-21). The most important thing is that when we put on our spiritual armor and practice spiritual discipline, God gives us His strength and power. We can be strong because of how powerful God is.

Many of the hard things we go through in life are not just accidents. God did not put many of them there. Satan, who is our enemy, is often the one who gives us trouble. He is always on the lookout for the best way to get us to give up on the Lord and our relationship with Him. We can defeat our enemy, who has already been humiliated by Jesus and the cross, by putting ourselves completely in the hands of the Lord and using His weapons of war.