Soar in His Strength, Volume 2

By Danny Thornton

Are you ready to soar through the day?

Devotionals come in many different shapes, sizes, and themes. They are all designed to encourage and inspire the reader for their day. Soar in His Strength, Volume 2 is also created this way, but not on a theme-based title, but rather a conglomeration of many thoughts and stories.

• Language: English
• Publisher: GodStrength.Coach INC.
• Release date: Apr 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9781736966631

Danny Thornton

Danny Thornton married his high-school sweetheart, Jean Marie, and fifty years later, they are still enjoying married life. They have two grown daughters and six beautiful grandchildren who are even now teaching, preaching, serving, and worshiping in the vibrant church they founded in 1990: River Church in Syracuse, New York. Danny is especially proud of his two gospels sons: Dan Allen, who pastors River Church in Syracuse, New York, and Justin Metcalf, who pastors Solid Rock Church in Albany, New York.

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Introduction

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31 KJV)

The ultimate transfer of God’s strength began in your life when you asked Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior. Instantly, His Holy Spirit came into your spirit and formed the greatest fusion of power the world can never offer. It is through this union with God that we receive the strength necessary to face each day. 

The word strength can be defined as the quality or state of being strong. Just as our physical body needs nourishment for strength, we must also feed our spirit the necessary nutrients to properly strengthen our day. Look at this passage:

The human spirit can endure a sick body, but who can bear a crushed spirit? (Proverbs 18:14 NLT).

My hope is that these devotionals will strengthen your spirit so you can SOAR throughout your day and be able to stay above your problems—not for your problems to stay above you!

What is it that you expect to receive when you read a devotional? Do you want to be inspired to move forward in what God called you to do? Is it to fulfill a deep desire to be more like Jesus in your behavior or is it to be strengthened and encouraged for your day ahead? 

It may be all of the above, and if it is, then you have the right devotional in your hands. Soar in His Strength was written and designed to usher God’s strength into your spirit so you can be encouraged in your walk with God.

My hope and desire is that this book will inspire you to be the best mom, dad, sister, brother, business person, preacher, pastor, man, woman, or young person you can be. Many of these devotions contain my own stories and experiences that directly relate to the scripture for the day. 

I pray that my personal journey will help you avoid unnecessary hardships as you receive understanding through each devotional. To have understanding means to have the power to comprehend.

In 1 Chronicles 12:32 (KJV), the sons of Issachar were said to have an understanding of the times. They joined David in a town called Ziglag with others who had fled the rule of King Saul. I’m sure David was blessed to have them for their insight. I hope that these devotionals will do the same for you: that you will receive an understanding of the times you live in to help you make proper decisions.

I added pinpoint questions to cause you to think. That’s right, think. I want you to think about your relationship with the Holy Spirit and other relationships in your life; think about your behavior; think for the good of others, and not just yourself. Above all, I pray you will yield to the mind of Christ and not your carnal mind.

To get the best use of Soar in His Strength devotional, I recommend that you:

Ask the Holy Spirit for the right time to do your devotions. (I recommend at the very start of your day)

Do your best to make your appointment with God and keep it, but do not be legalistic.

Shut the door as Jesus said in Matthew 6:6 concerning entering your prayer closet. To me, that means to turn off every device that will distract you, including your TV and phone.

Before you begin your devotional, ask the Holy Spirit to open your spirit to receive the understanding you need.

Always be bold and ask the Holy Spirit tough questions and expect Him to answer in your spirit.

Lastly, bring a pen and paper with you to jot down anything you are impressed to write. It might be the Holy Spirit prompting you!

My hope and prayer is that you will develop a Holy-Spirit-empowered life. Somebody believe! 

Day 1: Are You Suffering from Low Morale?

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13 NLT)

Do you need hope in an area of your life today? If you do, where do you go to get hope? Who or what is the source of y our hope?

If you ever read God’s autobiography, the Bible, you will gain confidence in the hope He offers. If he did it in the past, He will do it again. Never forget that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. If your source of hope is God, then be assured from the above scripture that the supplier of hope is the Holy Spirit.

Whatever can be shaken will be shaken is a good summary statement for the age we live in now. If you fervently give yourself to reading and keeping updated on the daily news, it will have a tendency to drain you of any hope you have, and that can cause your morale to nose dive. Morale is the mental and emotional condition of an individual or group. When morale is high, enthusiasm, confidence, and loyalty can run high in an individual, a corporation, or ministry. This is the same for churches and even countries.

When one negative thing happens after another, morale can become low. It can affect the way you perform your job, and you won’t go the extra mile as you used to. The ho-hum feeling will not just affect you, but you will pass it on to others.

I worked in a huge factory for a few years, and one of my co-workers in my department began to complain about the company. Let’s call him Jimmy. Jimmy was relentless with complaining and murmuring. After talking with him for a few moments, even I wanted to find a foreman and punch him (I did not know the Lord then). Jimmy’s negativity would get people all riled up. It got to the point that we all dreaded going to work, and we disrespected management.

This continued for a few months until one day when one of my co-workers yelled at Jimmy to shut up and get away from him. He also told him he didn’t want Jimmy to talk to him again unless he had something good to say. After that happened, it seemed all of the workers’ eyes—even Jimmy’s—were opened to what was happening.

High morale can usher enthusiasm for your job, resulting in an increase in teamwork and a sense of satisfaction and hope. Low morale is a sign of hopelessness.

The world we live in needs hope, and we are the ones to give it. Peter said:

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. (1 Peter 3:15 NIV)

Hope will help you get you up in the morning. Hope will help you dream—and dream big. Hope will cause you to seek God for wisdom. Hope is dope. Okay, I just heard a young person use that phrase. We need some crazy hope to get through some of the things we are dealing with now. Without hope, there is no faith.

Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. (Hebrews 11:1 NLT)

The passage tells me that hope is the launching pad of faith. The King James Version says, Faith is the substance of things hoped for.

Fear is screaming, It’s impossible! Hope says, All things are possible!

Which would you rather have? Fear or hope? Which one will bring low morale? Fear will. What will bring high morale to your life? Hope. I told you, hope is dope, man!

Have you given up on something or someone? How is your morale at home, work, or church?

I think you know why now. It’s because you have lost hope. What should you do?

Well, the scripture above says we will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. So ask the Holy Spirit right now for abundant hope, for it is within His power to do so.

CONFESSION: Hope is dope, and I want it!

PRAYER

Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ name, I ask You to help me to raise my morale so that the joy of the Lord is evident on my face. Remind me not to murmur and complain. Allow the words that come out of my mouth to build people up. Thank You, Lord, for You are my hope. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Day 2: Has God Asked You to Do Something Impossible?

Jesus looked at them intently and said, Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible. (Matthew 19:26 NLT)

There are many seemingly impossible things that God asks us and leads us to do. But He doesn’t stop there, He grants us strength for what He calls us to do. Jesus said, But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you (Acts 1:8). He doesn’t leave us in times of trouble. He is the supplier of our strength, and that’s how the impossible is accomplished t hrough us.

When I first came to God I wanted to buy a house for my family, but it didn’t seem possible for us. I was working a medium-wage job and had no special training to advance in the ranks. To make matters worse, my credit wasn’t good at all. I had several things on my credit sheet that needed to be taken care of.

To start with, I had to learn how to put God first in my finances. So Jean and I began to honor God with the firstfruits by tithing all my earnings every week. Tithe means ten percent. It taught me immediately how to budget my money. I had no formal training in finances, but the Holy Spirit led us.

But one creditor could not be found. I had to pay it off, or I couldn’t buy a house. I searched for the creditor for weeks and then gave it to the Lord. Months later, I got a phone call, and the person asked me, Are you wanting to pay a bill for a company (mentioned the name) that no longer exists?

Yes, I do! I shouted with joy. They were surprised that I was so excited.

Then the test came, I received an income tax refund, and it was the same amount that I owed the company. I sat in the car with my wife, and we lifted up the money to God and thanked Him for it. Then I did something I hadn’t done in a long time—something a normal, responsible person would do—I used the money to pay the bill off. God did that for me. To make a long story short, I bought a lovely house with only ten dollars down, and the mortgage payment was $111.00 per month. The amount seems low, but it was 1980. We have now been living in our home for forty years. To God be the glory!

The Holy Spirit has split seas, raised the dead, caused ax heads to float, and turned water into wine. He is just as powerful today as He was then. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever!

Do you need a financial miracle? Do you need physical healing? Do you need deliverance? His Holy Spirit is just as powerful today as it was when God split the Red Sea in two to save His people, and He will do the same for you.

Have you doubted the power of the Holy Spirit in you?

Are you having difficulty believing that God can still work miracles and bless His people?

Are you in a situation that seems impossible?

Is it possible that you are being set up for a miracle? Remember, it may be humanly impossible, but with God, all things are possible.

It is key for you to remember that the Holy Spirit lives in you. You have the same Holy Spirit that Peter, James, and John had. You have the same