God's Strength in Our Weakness

Where do you turn when you are overwhelmed? When anger, frustration, fear, longing, pain or grief overtake common sensibilities, and emotions take control?

We are emotional beings, fraught with strong feelings that pull us off of our solid center. Life has so much to deal with, and we are pulled in so many directions throughout our day.

We may be sailing smoothly along and then get hit with an unexpected storm. Or we might be facing a trial of pain and inconvenience as we deal with a medical issue that threatens our stability.

After years of living and enduring being tossed to and fro on the waves of emotion that surge within me caused by situations in my surroundings, I have chosen to cling to a solid Hope that stays my course.

The storms of life blow and rattle my world, but with a solid strength to tether myself to I can weather these trials with some sense of forward motion. I don’t get “stuck” in my emotional turmoil as I used to.

The emotions are still strongly present, but they serve as a barometer to how I am experiencing what I am facing. I draw on my strength, my solid faith, and call on God to carry me through.

Even the power of praying brings me peace. Feeling connected to God through my challenges changes my focus. I am not in this alone. He will give me strength through the power of His Holy Spirit and I can endure. And when I am too weary to carry on, I rest in Him.  And there are times when I need to do that and just let the storm blow by.

The storms of life will come. That is a certainty. Instead of losing control and thrashing about wildly looking for solutions, I try to focus on God and keep my center. His strength is there for us when we need it.

And if our lives are centered on Him throughout the ebb and flow of our day-to-day living, we will know He is as close as our thoughts and we can easily turn to Him for support when the waters rise.

The challenges of life are more easily survived with a support system. Taking care of yourself, with time to pray or meditate and rest, eating well and exercising are all important to feeling your inner strength. Having good friends or loved ones to whom you can turn and verbalize your thoughts can help you sort through difficult times.

And knowing the solid, constant presence of the One who knows us best is a comfort and a wellspring of strength we can draw from whenever we feel the need. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. We gain strength through the courage it takes to reach out. Knowing that the strength we need is always available gives us the power to carry on.