We often get discouraged when we are trying to make our way through life in our own strength and power. Our needs and dreams frequently present challenges and obstacles that need to be overcome in order to move forward.
The problem is our strength and energy levels have limitations. Our mental and emotional resolve, our will power, can only last for so long and take us so far before we find ourselves running on empty.
When we reach that point when we have nothing left in the gas tank, it can make anyone feel weak and vulnerable. No one wants to be made to feel weak or vulnerable. Yet, when the unexpected happens, things we didn’t plan for, unwanted things beyond our control, it’s hard not to feel a little trepidation, worry and concern about what might happen next.
No Stranger to Adversity and Severe Hardship
The Apostle Paul was no stranger to finding himself in horrible circumstances, hanging on for dear life. In grave danger, there were times when he was often made to feel weak and vulnerable. He faced more than his fair share of adversity and severe hardships. His story includes bouts with physical pain and affliction, mental anguish, not to mention the emotional turmoil of not knowing what might happen next.
The things Paul encountered during the course of his life and mission would have easily taken out most people with one shot. But not Paul.
He discovered something about God’s strength that he could draw from especially for those moments in his life when he felt most weak and vulnerable. It was a secret he lived by that enabled him to do things in life he never would have thought possible!
Paul encountered a lot of struggles in his journey, but at the same time there was a strength working within him that was not his own. It was a strength that can only be explained as coming from God Himself.
† “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.
Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.”
2 Corinthians 4:8-10 NLT
Like Paul, you may be in the middle of something right now, carrying an unbearable weight. You may find yourself in a situation beyond your control or in a circumstance where you have been made to feel weak and vulnerable. But hear me when I say to you today, in Christ, you are stronger than you think!
In Christ, You Are Stronger Than You Think!
In contrast to our weakness, limited strength and power, …
God’s power is limitless and always available when we need it most.
When things are tough, you have to believe there is something to be gained in the struggle itself. And it may be nothing more than to know what Paul himself discovered in his journey when he declared…
† “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”
Philippians 4:12-13
Paul went through a lot as he struggled to navigate the challenges that came with carrying the weight of his mission.
What did he learn? He learned how to make the connection between his weakness and God’s strength. He learned that God’s power works best in weakness, and that whenever he was weak, he was strong.
God’s Presence & Power
This discovery would play a huge role in how Paul would navigate the call of God upon his life. This meant that for every major obstacle Paul would have to face along the way, He would never be alone or without God’s strength and provision.
Paul learned that as a follower of Christ, . . .
If God called him, he would be going with the presence and power of Christ dwelling within him.
There would be hardships, shipwrecks, and everything in between. Hard choices and sacrifices would need to be made. His life’s work and purpose would at times be grueling and difficult to accomplish.
Paul understood these kinds of conditions would make the presence and power of God at work in his life so essential. WHY? Because Paul knew he would never be able to fulfill his mission without them.
No matter how insurmountable the obstacles Paul would ever face, God would supply whatever was needed to overcome them.
God’s Empowerment for Us Today
What Paul knew, we also need to believe:
God will never ask us to do something in which He will not empower us to do!
How is this made possible? How can we be infused with God’s presence, His strength and power?
It begins first by acknowledging our limitations. You have to be honest with yourself about your weaknesses and admit to God that you need Him.
Total surrender is what leads us to complete dependence upon God, and then onto the discovery of total sufficiency.
Understand, it’s in this place of surrender where we allow the Lord to personally fill us with His loving and gracious presence. It’s where Paul found God’s power to carry out such a difficult mission. It was here, where he learned how to find strength and life within the sacrifices he was called to make for the cause of Christ.
Think about this:
The greater the difficulty Paul faced, the more he was made to feel weak and vulnerable. But at the same time, it’s what created the conditions for him to learn even more deeply, how to rely on God’s strength. And what he discovered was God’s strength was enough. God’s grace and strength was sufficient for every challenge he would ever face.
Divine Strength That Enables Us to Rely Upon God
It was a divine strength for those times when Paul felt weakest and struggled the most. It was a strength Paul learned to rely upon; a secret he discovered through the power of living in God’s presence.
With God, Paul learned that whenever he was weak, he was strong. Whether his day was easy or turned into something unexpectedly hard, it didn’t matter. Either way, Paul was able to find strength for the circumstances he would ever face in life because God was with him!
Let me encourage you today:
Look for God’s presence within your heart throughout this day, especially when you find yourself most challenged.
Think about what part of today or tomorrow you will be most dependent upon God showing up. Those moments when you may feel more vulnerable and weak, and need God’s strength or provision.
This is important! WHY? Because those moments of weakness and vulnerability are where, in Christ, you can find the greatest outpouring of His grace and favor. In your moments of weakness and vulnerability, that’s where you’ll find His strength, His presence and His power.
In His Presence!
The idea here is to begin each day in His presence, to believe He is going to be with you, and to expect God to show up when you need Him most.
When you learn how to incorporate this habit into your life, you’re going to be better equipped to lean upon God’s strength when you feel most weak and vulnerable. You’re going live with greater confidence knowing that whenever you find yourself in a weakened position, you’re not alone because God is with you.
You’ll be made to feel His strength working in you and through you, because His presence, His peace, His power and His purposes will be dwelling and coming alive within you!
You’ll come to know what Paul knew—that God has made His strength completely available to us so that we can do ALL THINGS through Christ who gives us strength!
† Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:8-10 NLT
Let me PRAY for you!
Lord Jesus Christ, in whom we can trust Your grace to be sufficient for all our needs. Touch all those who may be going through a difficult challenge or circumstance in their lives right now. Hear their prayer!
Where there is mental anguish, grant peace of mind. Where there is emotional turmoil, grant peace of heart. Where there are physical afflictions, grant divine health and healing. Where people find themselves lacking, show Your provision.
Where grace is needed, show grace. Where mercy is needed, show mercy. May your strength and power be perfected in the places where we are most weak and vulnerable. Help us, Lord, to believe and never forget that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength! In Your name, we pray. Amen!