July 26, 2018

Strength Comes From God

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his spirit in your inner being.”

– Ephesians 3:16

One of the worst things you can say to someone who is hurting or struggling is that they are strong. I know. You mean well. But comments like that are more to reassure you than to reassure the one who is crushed inside.

We want people to be strong. It lets us off the hook. We don’t have to worry so much about them. We don’t have to rearrange our worlds to care for them. Their strength somehow reassures us that no matter what happens, there’s a way to get through it. Somehow maybe we believe that God only calls the strong to the toughest storms.

Nope. God doesn’t give anyone a pass. That is a hard and difficult thing to accept. Shouldn’t a loving God spare us the unending pain? Shouldn’t a caring God prevent awful things from happening? That’s especially true when those things don’t have a cause or, seemingly, a purpose?

Questions haunt the night. Days are filled with busyness. People abound. But it is in the quietness of night that tears flow and our bodies ache with the emptiness that fills our soul.

A sweet friend unexpectedly lost her husband. People tell her she is strong. She doesn’t feel strong. Why should she? Every plan she had, every dream, has just been shattered. Every piece of her foundation has been shaken. A week ago she was a wife and now she is a widow. How does she even begin to pick up the pieces?

There are children to comfort. There’s a business to run. There’s endless paperwork and uncertainty. She is alone. I know. She’s got family and friends surrounding her but make no mistake. She’s alone. Her life partner is gone. The person who brightened her days and was her closest confidant is gone.

God remains. When we get to the end of it all, that is what we hold on to. He is the One who remains. He sees the heart. He sees the pain. It is His strength others see, not our own.

Just breathe. How many times can a person utter those words? Just do this one thing, you tell yourself. Deep breath. You can make it through this. Just another five minutes. And then another. Whew! One more day is done. Now to face the night.

Strength is fleeting. A moment of resolve turns into tears. The slightest thing becomes a mountain. You question. Over and over you question our great Lord, asking why again and again.

The Bible tells us that His ways aren’t our ways. We can’t understand and, honestly, it’s not our place to try. But we try anyway. We want to somehow make sense of something that makes no sense.

There’s no strength in that. Just a simple faith that says you’ll get through this day. Just a firm belief that He won’t leave you in this place of despair. Just a Risen Savior who promises that one day your tears will end and the reunion will be glorious and forever.

Don’t ever tell someone they’re strong, that they’ll make it through, that they’ll be alright. Nothing will ever be the same and that’s a bitter thing to bear. Pray that the Holy Spirit will strengthen them for the journey. Walk beside them, offering a shoulder, a Kleenex, a helping hand. You can’t fix it but you can love them. At the end of the day, that’s all any of us can do. Love those who are broken inside. Be Jesus. That’s all. Just be Jesus.