True Strength
What are the seven most powerful words in the English language?
I used to think it was something along the lines of: Press through when the going gets tough. That’s what the world tells us is important. That’s how we make change happen, right?
There’s a lot I can do on my own strength. I’m a multitasker. I know how to make the right phone calls and talk to the right people to put the right pressure on the right valves to see movement on the right fronts.
My husband and I combined have spent more than 25 years in Washington, DC — America’s power center. Once you are around that city long enough, you start to know the people who know people; and going to the White House for a meeting isn’t quite as exciting as you once thought it was.
But if you get too comfortable in your own strength, you can take that mindset into other areas of your life. Like when your son gets diagnosed with cancer, the first thing you might think is: who do I know? You figure out how to get in with the right surgeons. You might throw names around to move around frustrating policy or squeeze people to make the right decision.
But that kind of strength only gets you so far. It only gets you as far as the people you know and which way the culture is blowing, and if you keep up appearances and good relationships with all the right power players.
Honestly, pressing through is exhausting. We all reach our breaking point, eventually. Because as much as any one of us would like to be superwoman, at some point we all realize we can’t jump off buildings or rescue every person. At some point, our connections only take us so far. We only win people until we don’t.
So what do you do when your strength has nothing more to give. When you reach your breaking point and there is nothing more in that tank?
Maybe that mantra of pushing through isn’t all you thought it was. Maybe there is actually more strength when you tap into a different frequency, one that is beyond what you could ask, think or imagine? (Ephesians 3:20)
What if the seven most powerful words were actually first said in a garden 2,000 years ago by a man who changed the trajectory of history with his simple posture of: Not My Will, But Thine Be Done?
When those earth-shattering, go against human nature, are you really throwing in the towel, words were spoken, what happened in the spiritual places? The darkness thought it had won. And yet, that submission to a Higher Power was the exact recipe needed to break the dominion of darkness forever.
Come again? Weakness is strength? Submission is breakthrough? Obedience is the ultimate rebellion?
Yes, yes and yes! Because when we release our plans and declare that His is better, we kill the last standing boulder that can get in the way of the will of a good, all-powerful, for us God.
When we tell our pride that it can take a knee, we set the storyline for the ultimate Champion, the undefeated King of Heaven, to sweep in and tell a story that changes the very fabric of our lives and the lives around us.
When we let go of our power plays, we step into a supernatural frequency. It’s like when my 5-year-old stops whining to get that store-bought, over-processed and probably expired little cookie, and I can finally reward her with the ice cream Sundae deluxe with all the fixings that I had wanted to give her. But I couldn’t until she stopped making her case and simply let me bless her — with no attitude and whining attached.
What is it about surrendering control to a perfect God that changes the script? What is it about His grace that is sufficient? What is it about our weakness that sets the stage for His strength?
Honestly, I don’t know how to explain it well theologically. But what I do know is my story. The more I press in and ask Him to fight for me, the more I am seeing breakthroughs in places I have been fighting for freedom. The less I strive to make it happen my way, and ask Him what He is doing, the more everything begins to make sense in a way that brings unexplainable peace to what could be considered a difficult circumstance. I don’t beg Him to change hard stuff, I welcome it understanding His great love for me in that place.
It’s about knowing the character of God. Knowing He is FOR YOU and His plans are FOR YOU. It’s not a cop out. It’s not a way of dealing with the pain of life. It’s an actual, for real reality that changes your perspective on everything you encounter. He is with me in this!
There is nothing quite like His strength made perfect in our weakness. When He fights for us, you win, everytime — no exceptions! His will be done means you get to start breathing and stop fighting the goodness of God working in and through your life. Instead of waiting for God to give you a victory, you discover that you sit in the lap of victory because of the finished work of the cross. His surrender bought you peace. By His stripes, we are healed, right here in the middle of whatever we are in the middle of.
May that true strength be yours in this season, friend. May you discover the hidden lessons of humility in your life to be the life-giving nutrition your soul needed. He has never lost a battle and His track record will never change.
