The Secret Of Superhuman Strength

Some months ago a scientist friend, employed by a company attempting to harness the power of the atom for peaceful purposes, was moved out of the laboratory to a position of executive responsibility. His job now is to help take care of his temperamental scientist colleagues who are unable to get along together. These men engaged in the job of harnessing limitless power seem to be powerless inside themselves. They are petty, temperamental, quarrelsome, jealous and selfish. So my friend’s assignment is to help these men get along together.

As we discussed this situation, we commented on the irony of men engaged in the job of tapping the seemingly limitless forces of power in the world, but evidently needing to tap a source of power to take care of their own problems, feelings, emotions and passions. I have often since reflected on this irony and this need. Where are we going to find power to discipline our own desires, to master our own moods, to handle our own emotions, to face the situations and problems and responsibilities of life adequately, successfully, even victoriously? This isn’t an academic problem; it is a problem which concerns all of us desperately.

There are drives and appetites and cravings within us that we have trouble handling. Is there some more-than-human strength which will give us what we so desperately need—the power to discipline these drives, to master these moods, to handle these explosive feelings, to face up to all of our circumstances and problems and responsibilities adequately, even victoriously? In view of this common need, we turn to the only reliable textbook on successful living, the Bible, God’s Word—which reveals to us the solution for all of our human problems—to the testimony of the Apostle Paul, a man who lived so strenuous and demanding and taxing a life that our little lives by comparison are prolonged holidays.

If you think you are under pressure, facing difficulties and responsibilities, contrast your experience with that of this man. He writes in 2 Corinthians 11:23–28: “Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren. In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.”

How did he stand it? What was the source of his strength? He continues in chapter 12:7–10: “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then I am strong.” Paradoxically, when I am at the limit of my human resources, then I tie into a superhuman power. Obviously, the secret of this man’s strength was Jesus Christ, in whom the omnipotent God has revealed Himself to us.

Glance at his testimony in Philippians 4:11–13, and understand that there is nothing of pride in what Paul tells us; he is merely reporting to the glory of God: “Not that I speak in respect of want; for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound, everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” I am sufficient for anything, he declares, through Jesus Christ who keeps on pouring power into me.

Here is the secret of superhuman strength we need. Paul found energy and power and sufficiency in Jesus Christ. And if you and I are struggling with ourselves, nearly crushed under the pressures of responsibilities, collapsing before temptation and the stresses and strain of existence in the 20th century, here is the secret we need to learn: Jesus Christ is the source of superhuman strength.

But how do we get this power? How does the sufficiency of Jesus Christ begin to operate in our own experiences? Is there some magic formula, or technique, or know-how? In just what way can you and I tap this superhuman strength in Jesus Christ which we so need every day? Well, there isn’t any magic formula, though there is an indispensable piece of know-how.

In Hebrews 11 there is the passage where the Apostle is discussing faith, and in virtually every statement there is a reference to faith. It is by faith that we tap this superhuman strength and avail ourselves of this divine sufficiency in the Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 32 you read a kind of summary: “And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae, of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets; who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong.” That’s for us, isn’t it! We are so weak, so spineless, so frequently defeated. We go to pieces so easily under pressure. But through faith out of weakness you and I can be made strong with the superhuman sufficiency of Jesus Christ. Have you put your faith in Him, trusted in Him as your Saviour, surrendered to Him as your Lord? Here is the formula: through faith in Jesus Christ you and I out of weakness can be made strong with the superhuman strength that Paul exhibited.

Many of you have indeed put your faith in Jesus Christ, yet there is something wrong, isn’t there? Jesus Christ, you agree, is the source of strength, and the secret which enables us to tap that strength is faith. You have exercised faith, but this power hasn’t been released in your experience. Why attempt to deceive ourselves? There is many a believer living a life of terrible defeat, many who believe in Jesus Christ sincerely but are still weak and don’t know what it is to be made strong with superhuman strength. What is wrong? Why do this beautiful theory and valid theology get done in by the ugly facts of everyday experiences, and why isn’t this strength operative in our lives?

Ponder the end of Isaiah 40, verses 28–31, where the prophet is reminding his distressed and exiled people that the omnipotence of the omniscient God is available if a certain condition is fulfilled. “Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary?” Here is strength for you which has no limit! “There is no searching of his understanding.” Here is wisdom which has no boundaries. “He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. The youths shall faint and be weary.” There is a limit to their energy and to their endurance. “And the young man shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the Lord”—Isaiah is now announcing the condition by fulfillment of which you and I have the energy of God released in our experience—“shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Here is the promise of strength sufficient for any of life’s demands, temptations, adversities, sufferings, no matter what. Here is God’s strength, strength revealed in Jesus Christ and available to us who believe, provided we wait upon the Lord.

Let me relate the stories of three women, on the assumption that if women, the weaker vessels, can avail themselves of God’s strength, then men should be able to do it. Sometime ago Edward Hunter wrote an interesting book, Brainwashing and the Men Who Defy It. He interviewed scores of people whom the Communists had subjected to brainwashing. He was concerned to discover how people were able to stand up under that relentless pressure. His greatest hero is a Chinese lady, Mary Liu. She was born in China and, not wanted by her family, left outside on a frigid winter night. Providentially somebody found her and carried her to a missionary hospital. Her fingers and toes were frostbitten and the doctor was compelled to cut them off, preserving one little stub of a thumb. With that handicap, she began life. She was reared by missionaries and early came to faith in Jesus Christ. One day she opened the Bible and came upon that text we were considering, 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” Mary Liu claimed that for herself. She secured a good education, became editor of a woman’s magazine, and was a radiant witness for the Saviour. She was in Hong Kong when the Communists took over. Back to China she went because, as she told friends, “If the Communists are looking for an example of what the human spirit can achieve in Christ, I am exhibit number one.” But the Communists decided that because she was a Christian she had better be brainwashed. So they subjected her to that fiendish, relentless, scientific pressure day after day until Mary Liu didn’t know whether she could take it. But as she told Mr. Hunter, one morning as her interrogators were needling her, she was asking God for strength and something happened. All at once, as she said, “I knew I could outlast the dictator of China. God gave me the strength.”

Then there are those situations in life when we must run and not be weary. We are called upon to put up with things humanly we can’t put up with. In Massachusetts there lives a family of four women: Edith, a Yankee; Iko, who is Japanese; and Iko’s two daughters, who are half white and half Japanese. Why are these four women living together? Edith and her husband Carl lived together happily until 1950 when the government sent Carl to Okinawa. After a time Carl’s letters became fewer and fewer, and Edith was alarmed. His letters stopped, until a letter came announcing that Carl had fallen in love with his Japanese housekeeper, had secured a Mexican divorce and had married Iko. What would you do if your husband treated you like that? Where would you get the strength to take it? More important, where would you get the strength to forgive, to overcome self-pity and hatred? Edith knew the source of strength. She wrote Carl a letter and forgave him, asking only that he let her know how he and his new family were faring. So she knew when the children were born, and every birthday they received a gift. She knew when Carl became sick with tuberculosis and she knew his concern for his two young daughters. She wrote and offered to rear the girls in her home in the United States and to see that they got an education. She knew when Carl died. The girls came; but she wasn’t able to supervise them and work at her profession as a nurse. So after further prayer Edith sent to Okinawa and invited Iko to come and live in her home supervising the girls while she earned a living for her husband’s second wife. Where do you get strength for that?

With most of us, though, the thing that gets us down is just sheer humdrum, routine monotony, the sameness of life that we find hard to take, day after day after day. The third woman is a single girl employed by a company owned by a hard businessman who prides himself on believing that nobody is indispensable—except this one girl. Somehow she is necessary. When she is around things seem to go smoothly, there is a different morale in the office. One day he called her in and with his usual manner went right to the point: “I want your secret. I want to know what makes you different.” She smiled and said, “It all goes back to a sermon, My pastor pointed out that the ordinary life consists of about 500,000 hours. He challenged us: why not devote 24 hours to an experiment and try to live in a way that Jesus Christ would approve.” She accepted the challenge. On the day set apart for the experiment she got up earlier. She prayed, she waited upon God, she read a portion of Scripture and then reminding herself of the Saviour’s presence, she went to work. Whenever there was an ugly thought that crossed her mind she banished it and laid hold of a verse of Scripture. Whenever there was some sharp word she checked it and tried to speak kindly instead. When there was any temptation to do something a little bit wrong she thought to herself, “What would Jesus say if He were here?” It wasn’t an impossible day, it was a good day. She decided to repeat the experiment the next day and the next, until this became her operative philosophy of life.

“They that wait upon the Lord shall walk and not faint.” Have you been waiting upon the Lord—habitually, persistently, believingly? Have I? Have we been waiting on God in quietness, in faith, in surrender, in obedience, in trust?

“Speak, Lord, in the silence, while I wait for Thee. Hush my soul to listen in expectancy.”