Strength for Today To Keep Weakness At Bay

STRUGGLES swarm within days of trial and the littlest thing tips us over the edge. We find ourselves reacting irrationally even as we witness it in our incredulity. Many moments of life we can feel we’re on the cusp of a veritable insanity.

Or, perhaps it’s just me.

Some periods of weakness are more than a reminder of the pit we’ve fallen into; despairing as these remainders are. At other times, moments of plummeting weakness come as a shock — what made us go off the deep end like that? What else is my anger capable of? What do they think of me now? What do I think of myself?

All too normal… if you’re someone like me.

Then the Words of the Lord came to me as I tweeted, unconscious (as always) of what he was going to say through me:

When the pressure’s on and we’re simply dazed,

When we want to be strong but can’t,

God says, “Stand still and be unfazed,

I’m strong enough for you when you aren’t.”

There’s a great pressure that comes into some of our moments — the situation’s untenable, conflict between the ears, confusion on the ground, and then we hear just one more sound!

We’d be dazed if we allowed ourselves to capitulate. But, of course, we can’t. We’re dependable leaders, parents, bosses, employees, mentors… or, if that doesn’t cover us… mere human beings capable of shocking lapses of dependability.

Sometimes we want to be strong but can’t. Indeed, many times we need to be strong are the very times we feel weakest.

God knows as well as we do the anxious urgency of those situations. The Lord is in us by his Holy Spirit. His angels know. Even the enemy knows. We know, yet we think we’re alone. We’re not alone. God is for us. And where that’s true we have access to every help we need.

Standing still, even if we were sitting or lying down, is the poise that stops in the moment of panic, in the time of weakness, when we’re bereft of response, and we choose courage to not respond. We don’t respond. If others are pressuring us, we choose to slow the pace of the moment down, so we have half a chance. We experience the compassion of Christ in our flailing moment. We take shelter in the shadow of his wings (Psalm 17:8). That is our obedience.

Strength for today is a moment away. Keeping weakness at bay is about a little delay.

Strength for today is ripe for the minute. We need to pick the fruit of patience at the very time we most need it. Nurture patience by the priori of prayer.

Strength for today in weakness is about accepting that in weakness is God’s strength.

Bearing weakness requires the faith of patience, which is ironic in its strength; the strength of surrender.

It takes courage to bear weakness; to be strong enough to be honest. God blesses that acceptance of reality with more of his strength.

© 2015 Steve Wickham.