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The End of Your Strength

The End of Your Strength

If the last year has taught us anything it’s that we aren’t in control of very much.

So much of our best-laid-plans have been adjusted, canceled, or delayed.

We are tired.

We are confused.

Our weakness has been exposed. We have come to the end of our own strength for this season.

You feel that way?

Me too!

And, that is really good news!

When you have come to the end of your own strength you are perfectly positioned for God to show you His strength.

Here are a few ways we can find strength in our own weakness:

Celebrate that the Glory Isn’t Yours

Glory for your situation isn’t ever lost. The praise, honor, glory of your life has to land on someone. It will either land on YOU or the ONE who created you.

The Bible is full of stories where great people of faith tried to do life on their own and it was always a disaster!

The Bible is full of stories of people taking the glory for work that God did. Victories He won.

The problem is if you get the glory, you get the responsibility too. And you don’t want that kind of responsibility.

A friend of mine said just this week “Clearly these stories [of the Bible] are put together in God’s Word to remind us that no God-substitute will ever do, and there’s no replacement for the kind of faith that keeps on returning to the Lord and His grace no matter what’s coming against us or the ways we’ve messed up.”

It is great news that God gets the glory for our lives, our wins, our circumstances and we get to experience deep and abiding JOY.

We should celebrate that God is responsible for our lives and that He gets the glory for His work in your life.

Boast in Your Weakness

It is so counter cultural to accept your weakness. Everything about our culture is built on what we are good at, which means we often are deceptive or quiet about our weakness. Because of this, self-reliance is something we all are prone to – especially when things are going well.

But, when things go sideways and our weaknesses are exposed, it creates crisis about not only what we believe about ourselves, but God too.

To fight this tendency, I keep reminding myself that my weakness shouldn’t call into question God’s power, but should send me running towards Him.

This is why Paul said this in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

BOAST, not of your strength, but BOAST OF YOUR WEAKNESS. This feels like something that only a Christian can do. Jesus makes this possible because of His strength.

And, finally…

Know God Hears Your Cries

There is something very powerful in the story of Hezekiah. We learn that he very sick with a dangerous boil (almost certainly the mark of bubonic plague) and the prophet Isaiah tells him he will certain die. The story reads,

In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.’” (2 Kings 20:1)

Obviously grieved by this news, Hezekiah cries out the Lord and God responds,

“Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD, and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake.’” (2 Kings 20:5–6)

Hezekiah cried out to God and a new promise came to him from the Lord. God heard his cry and responded.

Be reminded in this season that you don’t have to convince God to be for you. He loves you and wants His best for you. Sometimes your cries are exactly what your heart needs to hear from God.  In the moments of desperation His voice is often the clearest.

When you have come to the end of your own strength you are perfectly positioned for God to show you His strength.

Chris Lawson

Founder of MyBigJesus.com, husband to Merri, father to Adam, Ellie, and Zachary, and executive pastor @reynoldachurch. Lives to make Jesus famous. He enjoys watching the Atlanta Braves and UNC basketball, as well as demeaning and insulting whatever sports teams you root for. He knows a disturbing amount about television and movies.

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