An old green scientist worked out that if I only had a lever long enough and a fulcrum steady enough and somewhere to rest it, I would be strong enough to lift the world.
Strength is a bit of a paradox. Agur tells us in Proverbs 30 that “the ants are a people not strong,” yet their productivity is prodigious. “The conies are a feeble folk,” he tells us, but gram for gram their strength to excavate and shift material surpasses our largest bulldozers. By far the strongest natural organic substance known is spider silk, far stronger than our finest carbon steel (v.28).
Faith is like spider silk. Hebrews tells us that “out of weakness” the believer is “made strong” through faith (Heb. 11:34).
Too many times we try to gain the strength we need alone, forgetting the source. Too often we put God at the back of our thoughts, saying, “When I am strong enough to overcome my sins I’ll be a faithful Christian,” without realising that this strength can be found only in God Himself. On too many occasions, we forsake the assembly and refrain from breaking bread because we feel we are weak and sinful. But that is when we need God’s strength most!
It is fortunate that we have this source of strength to draw on. The rate at which drug abuse and suicides are being committed presently is genuine cause for alarm. More and more people are seeing no hope or future for themselves in this world and turn to the only pathway they see out of their dilemma — escapism or death.
We have a purpose, a mission in life, and we have the energy source to provide the strength we need to carry it out. The petty troubles in this world are therefore no bother to us, as with David we can say, “The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom (or of what) shall I be afraid?” (Psa. 27:1).
What courage! As far as David is concerned, God is mightier, much mightier, than any army that confronts him. What little persons, what little non-entities, what insignificants can then stand in the way of God’s child? Get out of my way! And with the casualness they deserve, we brush them aside and continue in God’s strength. Paul exhorted the Ephesians, “Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might” (Eph. 6:10).
The atomic nucleus
My work as a scientist helps me greatly to appreciate this truth and apply it in my weaker moments. For a few years I worked and researched in the nuclear sciences — for medical, be it said, not military purposes! The more I studied the atomic nucleus, the more I marvelled at God’s power and strength.
Most of us know by now that at the heart of our galaxy is a colossal black hole, where gravity is so strong that nothing can escape, not even light. It is so strong that all matter sucked in is literally compressed into nothingness, into that mysterious “singularity” somewhere down a black hole where space, time — everything — vanishes.
Yet the utterly astonishing thing is that of the four forces which hold God’s universe together, gravity is by far the weakest! The strongest of the four, very sensibly, is known as the strong force, and it is only apparent at the tiniest of scales, the atomic nucleus. The strong force holds the constituents of the nucleus together, and so keeps our bodies and minds from blowing apart! Without the strong force, a hundred times as strong as any other, the whole universe would collapse and disintegrate. In fact, it could never have come into existence in the first place.
We are told that the nuclear power that blasted open Jesus’ tomb and revivified his corpse can also empower us, spiritually right now, and then immortally in God’s Kingdom: Paul speaks of “[God’s] incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised him from the dead and seated him at His right hand in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 1:17-20; Col. 2:12).
Just try and take that in!
Amazing: the smallest specks in the universe have the strongest force we know. Most amazing: “God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong” (I Cor. 1:27). So Paul could say with heartfelt truth: “When I am weak, then am I strong” (II Cor. 12:10).
Forget nightmares of black holes. The strong force is more powerful than any black hole. Remember the words of Azariah ben-Oded: “As for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” And note Asa’s response: “When Asa heard these words, he took courage” (II Chron. 15:7,8).
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One