Jentezen Franklin Daily Devotional (April 16, 2025) Stronger And Stronger.
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:7-9
2 Samuel 3:1 says, “David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.” Maybe you are struggling today or have recently been saved and have given your heart to the Lord but still have some residue of sin left in your life.
The house of David—meaning the anointing of God, the presence of God, and the worshipper in you—is growing stronger and stronger. The house of Saul, which is wickedness, is getting weaker and weaker. Your past and the sins in your life are getting weaker and weaker. You’re getting stronger through every trial, temptation, rejection, pain, and every hurt. What the devil meant to destroy you with is causing you to bounce back stronger than you have ever been.
The Bible says that the righteous are like a palm tree. A big pine tree may look tough on the outside, but when the storm comes, it snaps like a toothpick. But a palm tree is made to withstand great storms and droughts. When people grew palm trees in the desert, they would place a rock on top of it as the baby tree was just starting to sprout. This would force the roots to absorb the rock as they grew deeper into the soil. The little tree would wrap its roots around the rock. The more the tree would grow, the deeper the roots would go because the rock was keeping them anchored. They would go lower and lower and would always find sources of water no matter how bad or dry things were on the surface.
If you’ve wrapped your roots around the rock Jesus Christ when the storm comes, it may bend you, but it won’t break you. You may sway, but you will always bounce back. The storms of life will actually make you stronger the more you walk with Christ.
