I remember a certain evening quite vividly. I was eight-years-old, curled up against a castle of pillows, watching TV with my daddy.
We were watching a show where people were doing hard things that required quite a bit of strength. Suddenly, a tall man (who looked like he should be part of a biker gang) took the stage. He grabbed a Teflon coated frying pan and rolled it right up with his bare hands. To the average person, that’s pretty impressive. But to an eight-year-old? It’s absolutely mesmerizing!
And then another day years ago, my family was harvesting corn from one of our gardens. The sun was shining, the weather was perfect and everyone had their own job and task to accomplish. My little brother, Owen, was two-years-old at the time. Owen, less than three feet tall, had his arms loaded up with corn. You could barely see his face! With a proud smile, he wobbled through the maze towards the wheelbarrow yelling at the top of his lungs, “I’m muscle man! I got big, big, muscles!”
You see, strength is something that all of us notice, even at a young age. It’s something that makes us feel worthy and useful. It’s something we depend upon, and often take for granted, just as much as our next breath.
But what do we do when our strength fails us? Where do we turn on those gloomy days? Those lonely nights? Those hours that seem to just drag by in pain? When we can’t even accomplish the easiest of tasks?
What we do, friends, is turn to the One with the most strength. The One who has so much strength that He as offered some of it to us. The One who has offered to be our strength.
When our own strength fails us, we turn to Christ.
4 Ways to Draw Strength from Him:
1. Call out to Him (Psalm 34:17)
Start by just simply asking Him. It says in Psalm 34:17 that when the righteous call for help, He hears their cries and rescues them from all their troubles. He will hear your cries, He will help you. So, call out to Him for help.
2. Pray (Psalm 55:22)
Are you finding yourself discouraged? Weak? Disheartened? Bring all your cares to the Lord and He will sustain you. He will give you strength because He cares for you.
3. Read the Words of Life (1 Peter 2:2, 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
We all have those days that just don’t seem to go right. You accidentally burnt your toast, you spilled your coffee on the way to work, your boss corrected you for something, you missed an important meeting. You think your day can’t get any worse and then bam! it does. So, now what do you do? What you might feel like doing, is curling up into a ball and hiding from all humanity. But friends, in times like these, that’s when we need to study and lean on the Lord for our support. This is when we need those Words of Life more than ever before. If you happened to get a hold of my Bible, you might see scriptures here and there that are highlighted in fluorescent green. These are scriptures that I’ve highlighted during what I call my “scripture hunts” where I look for scriptures that bring me peace and joy. I know without a doubt that whatever happens during the day, I can always turn to those scriptures and draw the strength I need to finish my task. I encourage you to take your own Bible and hunt for scriptures that bring you that surge of joy and happiness when you read them. Underline them, memorize them. But most importantly, have them ready when you need them the most.
4. Get together with another fellow believer (Proverbs 27:17, Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 1 Thessalonians 5:11)
Lots of us have those certain friends in our life. The ones who pray for us, encourage us, they’re always there to lend a listening ear or help us when we’re in trouble. Never hesitate to call, text, message, and get in touch with these friends. Ask them to pray for you, ask them to pray with you. See if you can get together sometime that week and study the Bible together. Or even just to take a walk in the park or meet for coffee. I guarantee you that you’ll feel better after you’ve spent a while with your friend, exhorting and encouraging one another, building each other up.
Know that you never ever have to go through trials alone. You are His child. He loves you. He cares for you. He wants to pick you up and encourage you, strengthen you, and be your help. He wants to be your strength.
You never ever have to go through trials alone. You are God's child. He loves you. He cares for you. He wants to pick you up and encourage you, strengthen you, and be your help. Click To TweetSo, let Him be your Father. Let Him carry your burdens.
Find strength in the One who has offered to be yours.
Hi. Thank you to this article. But there is a typo: the first quote should be Ps 34.7 instead of 34.17.