Gloy-strength

 

“We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul- not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength that God gives.  It is the strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful he had for us.”

From Colossians 1:9-12 (the Message)

 

I absolutely love the picture that this paint.  The contrast between “suffering for the Lord” and truly “call it all joy” when we face trials.   I think we have all faced times in our lives when we just “gritted our teeth” and tried to get through. 

 

But what if that was not how God intended us to face struggles.  What God really intended for us it to turn to Him, trust His, lean into Him. 

 

What if we quit carrying burdens that we weren’t meant to carry in the first place?  What if we let Him show is strength in our weakness?  What if we instead of just gritting our teeth and getting through, we stopped, soaked in the lessons God has for us in the struggle, and allowed Him to fill us with “the glory-strength God gives us”; the kind of strength “that endures the unendurable and spills over to joy”?

 

I’ll be honest first of all I hate times of struggle.  The Bible tells us to “call it all joy” when we face trials (James 1:2).  Joy?  I don’t know many people whose first reaction to a trial is joy?  I know it is not mine.   Honesty, the first words that hit my lips are usually something like, “why God?” or “God make this go away”.  Joy is definitely not my first reaction. 

 

Here is the thing.  I know that “glory-strength” and “joy” are possible in the face of trials.  The key to this, in my opinion, lies in trusting God with the struggle.  Nothing we face is a surprise to God.  He wrote our story before we ever took our first breath. (Psalm 139:13-16).  He knew the good, the bad, and the ugly we would face.   What he wants when we are knocked to our knees by life is to look to Him, lean into Him, and turn our lives over to Him, trusting that His plan (even in the face of adversity) is better than our plan. 

 

Allow Him to carry the burdens that you face.  Turn the situation you face over to Him.  Put the person that you are struggling with at the feet of Jesus.  QUIT trying to work the solution yourself and let God work out the details and lead you through.

 

In so many ways the last two years have been the hardest I have ever faced in my life.  The death of a parent, the death of a dream, the death of a marriage.  All these things, if allowed, could have crushed me, and they almost did.  The turning point was waking up after facing death and realizing God still had a good plan for me.  One of hope and one for a good future.  It was at this point I had to let go.  Let go of my dreams of how I thought my life was going to end up.  Let go of people who I loved with every fiber of my being. Let go of all the stress and anxiety that try to “fix it” myself was doing to me. 

 

Once I allowed myself to lay it all at the feet of Jesus, I suddenly felt a supernatural peace in the midst of the biggest trial I have ever faced.  Suddenly I felt a glory-strength that I never knew existed inside me start to burst free.  I felt joy, real joy, even in the midst of pain and brokenness.   I didn’t just feel it myself, others started seeing it on my face, hearing it my voice.  I have heard myself say over and over, “I am happier than I have been in a long time, and in spite of my circumstances that should not be.” 

 

God has shown me how so incredibly blessed I am.  How many good things and people I have in my life? He has planted new hopes and dreams in my life.  I see a future, a good future.   It’s not the one I thought it was going to be, but it is good none the less.  I have learned to embrace the trials and have learned so many lessons as I walk though it.

God never intended for you to “grit your teeth” and get through.  So, whatever you are facing today, lay it at the feet of Jesus.  All of it.  Don’t pick it back up.  Don’t try to figure it out on your own.  Leave it at His feet and allow Him to work out that good and perfect plan that He has for your life.  Trust that His timing is better than yours.  I promise that if you do, He will fill your heart with “glory-strength” to face the struggles of life and you will experience a type of joy that is unexplainable.