When Strength is Not Enough

It’s taken me a long time to get to a place where I can see myself as strong. I had a distorted view of what strength was when I found it in myself. I tried to be strong by attempting to be all the people I saw as strong. All my attempts came up faulty. I was left with the only One who had been there all along, waiting for me to acknowledge His strength.

I used to believe that strong people didn’t say “no” to anyone. I thought that the ability to be a “yes-man” meant you were a strong person. I saw strength evidenced when these “yes men/women” were able to be everything to everyone. These seemingly superhuman people seemed strong to me because they were able to take the same schedule I had and do three times the tasks. When I tried to be this, I was left overwhelmed and mentally undernourished.

Later, my view changed. I started to see strength in people who were able to say “no”. I saw these people continually making time for themselves by saying “no” to others and interruptions. At first, this seemed empowering. The problem with this was that I saw God doing things in people’s lives who were inconvenienced.

My view of strength continued to change. I began to see strength in people who could be self-sufficient. They had everything they needed and planned everything out, as to not rely on others. I saw this freeing because people can be unreliable. In not needing anyone, I saw independence as strength. I tried this lifestyle out. Before long, even the planning and resourcing myself lead me to need help.

I have discovered some things about strength, as I’ve encountered situations too immense to be strong enough for:

1.     We are strongest when we are doing the difficult work that God has called us to do.

In the moments of uncertainty of our abilities for the assignment, God steps in. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (ESV). This verse tells me that I can’t activate Christ’s power in me until I am to the end of myself. I think sometimes God allows really difficult circumstances in our life to show us that we can’t do it all. I think we could be accessing a lot more of God’s power in our life, but we often continue to be self-sufficient. We like to play it safe, rather than stepping out into the unknown, the place where God is. By allowing God to invite us into the uncomfortable, we can be available vessels to receive God’s power.      

2.     Moments of divine strength often come in the packages of interruptions.

It’s in those moments when we allow interruptions in our routine that God gives us strength. We have to make space for these moments. We can’t accept God’s power in our lives if we are too busy checking off boxes. Jesus was inconvenienced a lot. In the moments when people came to Jesus asking and He stopped that I see strength. I see a God who can tell the raging sea to cease stop because a sick person touched the hem of His garment. I see one who can heal the sick with just a word stop and help little children receive His strength. Perhaps every time we give of ourselves during those Spirit nudges, God gives us extra strength for the interruption.

3.     Strength is received in the throne room.

I see God bring me strength when I ask for it in prayer. One of the strongest people I know models this really well for me. She admits when she comes up short. She follows her admission with a request from me for prayer. She will tell me that she, herself, is asking God for strength to continue through the situation. She seems to understand that it's what we do with the “more than we can handle” that really determines where our strength lies. Where is strength found? The “strength and joy are in His place” (1 Chronicles 16:27 ESV). The action of praying for strength reveals a competency in the receiver of the prayer. I remind myself that God is strong when I ask Him to bring me strength during my troubles.

It took me a while to get to the place where I understood that the reason I did not feel strong was because I had a misunderstanding of what strength was. When found in myself, strength was not enough. I could never be strong enough for the challenges I faced. Once I realized that God was the strength in my weakness, it took my view off of myself and onto the One whom I put my trust in. Despite these strides, my mind can so easily forget what I have learned. As a booster shot, I thank God for His strength. When I see something go well, I thank God for giving me the power to carry on. My desire is that you and I can sing the song of Psalm 21:13, as evidenced in our lives: “Be exalted, O Lord, in Your strength! We will sing and praise Your power!” (ESV).