Colossians 1:11

…being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;

Paul continues his prayer for the Believers in Colossae by focusing on the power they need to be able to accomplish what God has called them to—walking in a worthy manner, fully pleasing Him, bearing good fruit, increasing in knowledge of God, and for the endurance and patience needed to be able to engage even the darkest of days with joy. Try doing all of that without the power of God enabling you!

“All power” describes an all-sufficient source for all the trials of life, all the time. It is the only kind of power that enables the Christian life. Warren Wiersbe makes the important point that “the emphasis in Paul’s prayer is on Christian character: patience, long-suffering, joyfulness, and thanksgiving. The inner victories of the soul are just as great, if not greater, than the public victories recorded in the annals of history. For David to control his temper when he was being maligned by Shimei was a greater victory than his slaying of Goliath. He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city (Pr 16:32).” These things require the power of God, unleashed in our lives via the Holy Spirit.

“His glorious might” indicates that this strengthening is not by any human means, but by the power of God. There is a manifestation of power in the spirit which Christians enables us to bear up under trials, which shows that it is not of human origin and is the power which God gives in the day of trial (Precept Austin). In other words, it’s always there when you need it. All of us will eventually face circumstances that drive us to despair, and in those moments, we will usually say something like, “I can’t take this much longer.” But the reality is that you can…through Him that gives you strength when you are weak (2 Cor 12:9).

Finally, Paul prays for the Colossians to be able to endure all of their challenges…with joy. In his commentary on this passage, William Barclay notes that, “The Christian way is not a grim struggle with events and with people; it is a radiant and sunny-hearted attitude to life. The Christian joy is joy in any circumstances. As C. F. D. Moule puts it: ‘If joy is not rooted in the soil of suffering, it is shallow.’ It is easy to be joyful when things go well, but the Christian radiance is something which not all the shadows of life can quench. So, the Christian prayer is: ‘Make me, O Lord, victorious over every circumstance; make me patient with every person; and with all give me the joy which no circumstance and no man will ever take from me.’”

These are lofty expectations, of course, and can seem insurmountable, especially when the days are difficult…but with God’s power within you, they are never out of reach. You can because He can…and you can endure anything with the joy that comes from your eternal salvation and knowing that all of God’s promises for you are “Yes” and “Amen.”