Not many animals hold such wonder for children as the horse. Boys and girls, with little knowledge of the necessary care, dream of having a horse as a pet in their backyard. In reality, a child who comes near a horse can be overwhelmed by its sheer size. The grand strength of its unpredictable movements can be distressing to a nearby child. This is not the plastic animal that moves only with imagination on the bedroom floor! This is a living being with its own greatness that must be respected.

Coming before our God in his Word can have the same effect. When we realize that God moves apart from our own invention, we get but a glimpse of his strength and power. There is no way to wholly appreciate his might. Our God spoke the universe into being just as easily as he held children on his lap and blessed them. He changed water into wine just as effortlessly as he parted the waters of the sea. His might has no limit in both great and small ways. Perhaps the greatest show of God’s strength was when Jesus, true God and true man, set his strength aside. All of heaven belonged to him but he became nothing as a baby, as a boy and finally as a man. On the way to the cross, Jesus gave himself to be bound, his body torn and hanging. He did not stop to hide or find shelter from his Father’s almighty fury. He did not brandish his power. He stayed. He stayed weak and broken. He stayed ashamed. He stayed to take your place and mine, to endure the Father’s wrath meant for us. His weakness was his strength!

A man’s strength gives out at his death. No one walks through a graveyard and comments on the strength of the dead bodies there. But death did not strip Jesus of his strength. In a most unnatural turn of events, Jesus’ weakness stripped death of its strength. After three days, Jesus’ grave was empty! He was alive and rose from the dead! His weakness defeated death and not just his own! Since his death was a credit to each of us, his life will be a credit to each of us as well! We will live in heaven with him forever! Look to Jesus with eyes of faith. His weakness is strength and his strength is yours by faith!