Strengthen What Is Weak | Run Free, Part 6
Key Truth | Not everything that feels weak needs to be abandoned; some things need to be renewed, strengthened, and carried forward with fresh faith.
Key Scripture | “Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet…” — Hebrews 12:12–13 (NKJV)
There are seasons when God asks us to lay something down, and there are seasons when He tells us to strengthen what remains.
Hebrews 12 acknowledges that running a long race takes something out of us. Hands begin to hang down. Knees become weak. Even faithful people get tired.
But weakness doesn’t always mean something needs to end. Sometimes it needs to be renewed.
That distinction matters to me in this season. As God has been speaking to me about releasing weights and changing responsibilities, I don’t want to assume that everything difficult or tired should be left behind. There are things He placed in me years ago that need fresh strength for the season ahead.
The answer isn’t always something new. Sometimes God strengthens what was there from the beginning.
That makes me think about Opendoor.
Forty years ago, we didn’t have the buildings, campuses, programs, systems, or resources we have today. But we had something far more important: a hunger for God, faith to obey Him, dependence on the Holy Spirit, and a commitment to unashamed and uninhibited worship.
Those things aren’t methods from a previous generation. They are part of the DNA of this house.
Methods will change. Music will change. Structures and responsibilities will change. But hunger for God should become stronger, not weaker.
Hebrews also tells us to “make straight paths for your feet.” Strength and direction belong together. Sometimes God simplifies the path by removing what has distracted us so we can give ourselves more fully to what matters most.
That’s a question worth asking personally: What needs to become strong in me again?
Maybe it’s prayer, joy, sensitivity to God’s voice, faith to dream, or the willingness to obey when He speaks. Some things should not be left behind simply because we have been running a long time. They should become deeper because we have walked with God long enough to know He is faithful.
And after 40 years, the same should be true of us as a church.
Forty years should give us 40 years of reasons to worship, believe, pray, and depend upon God. The next generation needs more than the structures we have built. They need to inherit a living faith and encounter the presence of God for themselves.
We cannot simply tell them what Opendoor was. We have to show them who we still are.
Some things need to be laid down. But some fires need to be stirred again.
The next season doesn’t only require us to release what has become heavy. It requires us to strengthen what still carries the heart of God.
Reflection
Prayer | Father, thank You for sustaining us through every season. Show me what needs to be strengthened in my life. Renew my hunger for Your presence, my sensitivity to Your voice, my joy in following You and my willingness to obey.
As a church, help us recognize what You have placed in the DNA of this house. After 40 years, may our hunger grow deeper, our worship become freer, our faith become stronger and our dependence upon Your Spirit become greater.
Give the next generation more than our history. Let them experience Your presence for themselves. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Additional Scripture
Hebrews 12:12–13 — Strengthening what has become weak
Isaiah 40:28–31 — God renewing our strength
Psalm 51:10–12 — The restoration of joy
2 Timothy 1:6–7 — Stirring up the gift of God
Revelation 2:4–5 — Returning to what was present at the beginning
Psalm 145:4 — One generation declaring God’s works to another
Key Scripture | “Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet…” — Hebrews 12:12–13 (NKJV)
There are seasons when God asks us to lay something down, and there are seasons when He tells us to strengthen what remains.
Hebrews 12 acknowledges that running a long race takes something out of us. Hands begin to hang down. Knees become weak. Even faithful people get tired.
But weakness doesn’t always mean something needs to end. Sometimes it needs to be renewed.
That distinction matters to me in this season. As God has been speaking to me about releasing weights and changing responsibilities, I don’t want to assume that everything difficult or tired should be left behind. There are things He placed in me years ago that need fresh strength for the season ahead.
The answer isn’t always something new. Sometimes God strengthens what was there from the beginning.
That makes me think about Opendoor.
Forty years ago, we didn’t have the buildings, campuses, programs, systems, or resources we have today. But we had something far more important: a hunger for God, faith to obey Him, dependence on the Holy Spirit, and a commitment to unashamed and uninhibited worship.
Those things aren’t methods from a previous generation. They are part of the DNA of this house.
Methods will change. Music will change. Structures and responsibilities will change. But hunger for God should become stronger, not weaker.
Hebrews also tells us to “make straight paths for your feet.” Strength and direction belong together. Sometimes God simplifies the path by removing what has distracted us so we can give ourselves more fully to what matters most.
That’s a question worth asking personally: What needs to become strong in me again?
Maybe it’s prayer, joy, sensitivity to God’s voice, faith to dream, or the willingness to obey when He speaks. Some things should not be left behind simply because we have been running a long time. They should become deeper because we have walked with God long enough to know He is faithful.
And after 40 years, the same should be true of us as a church.
Forty years should give us 40 years of reasons to worship, believe, pray, and depend upon God. The next generation needs more than the structures we have built. They need to inherit a living faith and encounter the presence of God for themselves.
We cannot simply tell them what Opendoor was. We have to show them who we still are.
Some things need to be laid down. But some fires need to be stirred again.
The next season doesn’t only require us to release what has become heavy. It requires us to strengthen what still carries the heart of God.
Reflection
- What has grown weak in you that God may be inviting you to strengthen rather than leave behind?
- Is there an area of your faith—prayer, worship, obedience, joy, or dependence on God—that needs fresh attention in this season?
Prayer | Father, thank You for sustaining us through every season. Show me what needs to be strengthened in my life. Renew my hunger for Your presence, my sensitivity to Your voice, my joy in following You and my willingness to obey.
As a church, help us recognize what You have placed in the DNA of this house. After 40 years, may our hunger grow deeper, our worship become freer, our faith become stronger and our dependence upon Your Spirit become greater.
Give the next generation more than our history. Let them experience Your presence for themselves. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Additional Scripture
Hebrews 12:12–13 — Strengthening what has become weak
Isaiah 40:28–31 — God renewing our strength
Psalm 51:10–12 — The restoration of joy
2 Timothy 1:6–7 — Stirring up the gift of God
Revelation 2:4–5 — Returning to what was present at the beginning
Psalm 145:4 — One generation declaring God’s works to another
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