“Blessed is the man whose strength is in You.” Psalm 84:5 NKJV
“Purposeful exertion against resistance builds strength slowly but surely.”
My thoughts today are about “inner strength.”
So you think you’re pretty strong? Life goes along smoothly for a while and the problems are manageable. A bit of success makes you feel pretty good about yourself and your abilities. The about the time you are feeling very good about that, life presents a situation challenging your assumption; inevitably, the experience shakes your confidence a bit, leaving you doubtful of even the strength you do have. Neither of those feelings is completely accurate. Let me suggest some things to consider.
You are not always as strong as you think yourself to be. Confidence is a good thing; overconfidence is not. “If you fail under pressure, your strength is not very great.” Proverbs 24:10 NLT. Pride and self-sufficiency is a trap into which too many fall. Everyone needs another’s help sometimes, if even they wish they didn’t. Recognizing that need, swallowing your pride, and asking for help is the most real source of strength. The Bible warns, “If you think you are standing strong, be careful for you too may fall!” 1 Corinthians 10:11-13 NLT. Real strength is not displayed in bluff and bravado of words or flexing of muscles.
You are not as weak as circumstances can make you feel. It is a terrible to feel inadequate, but feelings are not always full reality. While you might not be able to do everything all the time – and no one is able to do that – you are always able to do something. I read this helpful declaration many years ago, “I can’t do everything, but I can do something; and what I can do, I ought to do, and what I ought to do, by the grace of God I will do!”
You are stronger than you often feel you are. King David said, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble.” Psalm 46:1-3 NKJV. “And (the Lord) said, ‘My grace is sufficient for you; for My strength is made perfect in weakness’ . . therefore . . when I am weak, then am I strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NKJV. Your greatest strength is not found within; it is found in your reliance on God. See Ephesians 6:10-18 NIV. Paul wrote of a devastating situation when he describes himself as, “burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life . . (under) the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.” 2 Corinthians 1:8-10 NKJV.
You can be stronger than you are! Everybody admires a strong person, but there are a variety of equally genuine expressions of strength. Strength is often thought of only as physical strength. There is also emotional strength reflected in stability and maturity; mental, as evidenced in wisdom and determination; moral, as evidenced in character and convictions; and spiritual, as demonstrated by faith, obedience, and experience. You add strength incrementally, not all at once. Purposeful exertion against resistance builds strength. “Blessed is the man whose strength is in you, whose heart is on a pilgrimage . . they go from strength to strength.” Psalm 84:5-7 NKJV.
My prayer for you today is to trust in God more than yourself, in every situation.