Not by Strength, but by His Spirit | Not by Might Part 3
Key Thought | We must be cautious in our strengths and confident in His power.
Key Scripture | “Not by force nor by strength, but by My Spirit…”–Zechariah 4:6
Our strengths are gifts, but they can quietly become crutches.
It’s easy to rely on what has worked before. Our intelligence. Our discipline. Our charisma. Our experience. Over time, what began as gratitude can turn into subtle self-reliance.
That is why God speaks so clearly in Zechariah 4:6: “Not by force nor by strength, but by My Spirit.”
Jeremiah paints a vivid picture: those who rely on human strength are “like stunted shrubs in the desert” (Jeremiah 17:6). But those who trust in the Lord are “like trees planted along a riverbank… their leaves stay green” (Jeremiah 17:7–8).
The external heat may be the same. The drought may be the same. The difference is the root system.
Paul understood this personally. In 2 Corinthians 1:8–9, he describes being crushed beyond his ability to endure. He thought he would die. But in that breaking, something shifted: “We stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God.”
Sometimes weakness is the mercy of God, because weakness exposes where we have been leaning.
Even Jesus, fully God, operated in dependence on the Spirit (Acts 1:2; John 1:14). If the Son chose Spirit-dependence, how much more do we need it?
Confidence in self leads to anxiety, because everything rests on us.
Confidence in the Spirit leads to peace, because everything rests on Him.
Ask the Holy Spirit to gently reveal where self-reliance has crept in. Offer your strengths back to Him. Let your competence be surrendered, not self-sustained. Choose confidence in His power over confidence in your performance.
Prayer | Lord, protect me from trusting in myself. Where I am strong, keep me humble. Where I am weak, keep me dependent. Teach me to live by Your Spirit and not by my own strength. Amen.
Reflections
Key Scripture | “Not by force nor by strength, but by My Spirit…”–Zechariah 4:6
Our strengths are gifts, but they can quietly become crutches.
It’s easy to rely on what has worked before. Our intelligence. Our discipline. Our charisma. Our experience. Over time, what began as gratitude can turn into subtle self-reliance.
That is why God speaks so clearly in Zechariah 4:6: “Not by force nor by strength, but by My Spirit.”
Jeremiah paints a vivid picture: those who rely on human strength are “like stunted shrubs in the desert” (Jeremiah 17:6). But those who trust in the Lord are “like trees planted along a riverbank… their leaves stay green” (Jeremiah 17:7–8).
The external heat may be the same. The drought may be the same. The difference is the root system.
Paul understood this personally. In 2 Corinthians 1:8–9, he describes being crushed beyond his ability to endure. He thought he would die. But in that breaking, something shifted: “We stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God.”
Sometimes weakness is the mercy of God, because weakness exposes where we have been leaning.
Even Jesus, fully God, operated in dependence on the Spirit (Acts 1:2; John 1:14). If the Son chose Spirit-dependence, how much more do we need it?
Confidence in self leads to anxiety, because everything rests on us.
Confidence in the Spirit leads to peace, because everything rests on Him.
Ask the Holy Spirit to gently reveal where self-reliance has crept in. Offer your strengths back to Him. Let your competence be surrendered, not self-sustained. Choose confidence in His power over confidence in your performance.
Prayer | Lord, protect me from trusting in myself. Where I am strong, keep me humble. Where I am weak, keep me dependent. Teach me to live by Your Spirit and not by my own strength. Amen.
Reflections
- Where do I feel most self-sufficient?
- How has weakness shaped my dependence on God?
- What would deeper surrender look like in my strengths?
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