How do you find the strength to get through difficult times?
When I look back at the struggles that I have faced in the past, the only answer has to be - God. My faith sustained me through my mother's illness and subsequent death. God's gentle presence carried me through the shock and grief of losing my daughter. In both of those terrible situations, God's peace truly surrounded me and carried me through each day.
And now I am facing another change in my life. My youngest daughter and granddaughter are moving to another state. This is a good and wonderful thing. But I will deeply miss them. I have had the greatest blessing of being able to watch my grandchild grow up. She is starting high school and it is an exciting time for her. And I am happy to watch my daughter spread her wings too. But still... the loss of getting to see them daily. Oh, there are phones, and Facetime, and Zoom. I am sure we will be texting a lot. In some ways, we may communicate more when they are two states away. But it is still a difficult transition for me. So who can I rely on? God. He will walk me through this empty nest period and we will come out on the other side just fine.
Greater is He that is within me than He that is within the world. 1 John 4:4
When we believe in Jesus, we are literally given His strength. The Holy Spirit comes and resides within us and gives us access to everything we need. Peace. Love. Joy and Strength. We just have to remember it. We have to use it.
But how to do that? It starts with spending time with the Lord. Nothing can occur if we are just flying by and shouting prayers on the run. We need to stop and seek the One who knows the way. It's sort of like getting lost in traffic. We can drive around in circles trying to remember where the exit is or we can pull over for a couple of minutes and get out a map. Or set our GPS. And then we have to trust the directions that we receive. Admittedly, Google has given me odd directions before, but God's directions will always be right!
We need to fill our car up with gas, too! We won't get very far on an empty tank. Even if it is an emergency - the car won't move without fuel. If we want God's strength then we need to seek Him and receive it from Him.
God is greater than anything facing us.
Greater is He that is within me than he that is within the world. Just remembering this scripture can help when we feel the world is crashing in on us. God is bigger than anything we could face. We can rely on His strength to carry us through. But we have to believe this. We have to allow Him to work it out in His way.
When we are weak - He is strong. That's a promise from Him. It has been true in my life. It can be true in yours as well.
A Prayer
Lord, we need your strength today and every day! Help us with everything that is concerning us. Show us the way to deal with our struggles and help us to know when to sit still and let you take the reins. Lord, we love you and know you will never leave us or forsake us. We know you love us and our loved ones more than we can ever imagine. Perfect our faith, Lord as we turn these struggles over to you. Give us your peace that passes all understanding and grant that we may radiate that peace to others. We thank you, Jesus, for all you have given us and all that you do for us. We place our trust in you, Lord.
In your precious name, Amen.
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