When our boys were little, I heard “Look at me!” and “Watch this!” all day, every day. I so enjoyed my front row seat to The Sonny & Samuel Show — watching their excitement to be growing stronger and more independent by the minute. They climbed trees as high as they could go and proudly perched right out on the spindliest little branches. They leaped from every tall thing and into every muddy thing.
Don’t mind us…
They built all kinds of contraptions to (hopefully) float or fly. They raced down every hill on anything with wheels….
“Look Mama, no hands!!”
I was excited and proud for them, but must admit that I was sometimes fearful about their fearlessness. I surely wanted them to be strong and brave, but I also wanted them to be safe.
“That’s high enough!”
“Don’t jump from there!”
“I’m not too sure that’ll float, buddy…”
Sonny & Samuel needed confidence and they were getting it. They’re still at it — and so am I. Our physical, mental and emotional strength is so important to our success in life. It helps us achieve goals and endure hardship, but what we ultimately need even more than confidence in ourselves is confidence in God. We need to be deeply aware that our own strength can and will fail us, but that God never will. We need spiritual strength.
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” -Psalm 73:26
One summer day, when they were still small, the boys were seeing how fast they could coast down a monster-of-a-hill on their bikes. It was NOT for the faint of heart. One of them suddenly became frightened by the whole event and came running back towards me. At that moment, like so many other times watching them experience life, I felt like God wanted me to remember it.
Since then, I’ve come to understand more than ever that the greatest strength we can know is not in any of our own feelings or abilities — it’s in knowing the strength and safety of God and running to Him in our weaknesses. Our “look at me!” and “watch this!” moments will quickly come and go…
What do you imagine when you think of strength?
When I first think of strength, I don’t think of someone frail — I think of MUSCLE. Images from my Instagram feed come to mind where I see sweating, hard bodies doing their daily workouts. I see inspirational quotes —You got this! — Life is tough, but so are you! — Believe in yourself!
When I first think of strength, I surely don’t think of someone in an emotional or mental tailspin. I think of numerous people who have made it through incredibly difficult circumstances through sheer determination. I happen to be of that strong-willed variety. Maybe that’s why it took so much pain to break me down.
Physical, emotional and mental strength are good and SO necessary in our lives. I appreciate inspirational quotes that encourage us to BE ALL YOU CAN BE. I love to design and share them myself! But all we can be will eventually fall very short of meeting our deepest need for life.
Our own strength can only take us so far. It can even be our biggest obstacle to overcome since spiritual strength is developed through weakness — through the stripping away of our own strength, so far beyond what we can bear that we give up all confidence in ourselves.
If anyone should have been able to suffer without flinching — with constant “joy, joy, joy down in [his] heart” it should have been the Apostle Paul. But that’s not how things went down for him.
“For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.” -2 Corinthians 1:8-9
So yeah — Paul — the Apostle Paul — couldn’t. take. it. Being stripped of all of his own strength is exactly how he received God’s strength.
Our confidence is often too dependent on how strong we feel or think we are, in and of ourselves. It can lead us away from acknowledging and accepting our weaknesses which happen to be the most critical connection of grace between God and us. God had to remind Paul of this, and he has to remind you and me…
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” -2 Corinthians 12:9
I’ve learned that there are things in life that can shake us down to nothing — that every good feeling and every thought of strength and endurance that we may possess today can be gone tomorrow, but there’s great gain in that loss. That’s when we can grow more strongly in grace.
I no longer see people who seem to power through anything with a game-face as the strongest among us. Instead, I understand that it takes far more strength to be weak — to be freely honest about the struggle — to be fully human, yet fully embraced by God through Jesus.
We can surely strengthen our arms and legs, and strengthen our resolve, but far better is to be strengthened in our spirit to remember that just as our physical muscles actually grow when we are at rest, so too does spiritual strength grow when we are at rest in God. No doubt, he wants us to be strong and brave, but He also wants us to know we are safe.
When I’m doing great and feeling like I’m winning at this life thing, something inevitably happens that drags me down into the pit of failure, but I know God is there — saying, “Look at me.” =)
Maybe you’re struggling right now with physical and/or emotional pain and turmoil that won’t let up. I surely have and still do at times. Be open about it to people who understand. It takes far more strength to admit our weaknesses and need for the support of others than it does for us to think that we can power through everything alone. It’s okay to say “No, I don’t ‘got this’, but I trust that God has got me.” That’s lasting strength, my friend.
In life, faith & art
~Jamie
