March 1, 2020
By: Jaclyn Brindle
Strength comes in a variety of ways. Sometimes it’s through adversity, watching or listening to someone else’s testimony, or sometimes it comes at a time, we didn’t even know we had strength to give.
Anyone been there where they feel like life threw you a curveball and now what? Ever compare your life to others and it seems like you are coming up short? Or perhaps you seem to be asking, the infamous question, WHY ME!?
In the word, God gives strength to the weak countless times. He gives strength to the broken hearted, the hurt, the poor, the crippled, the lost, and to his friends. A verse that reigns true, not only in my life, but in the author who wrote it, is this:
“I can do everything through him who gives me strength”. Philippians 4:13
Now let me tell you a piece of my story. This was just the beginning of how God used His strength to lead me onward, in my life.
It was 2006, and I was going back to my senior year of college. It was summer and I was working as a camp counselor with kids, at the time. I took a beach trip with my cousin Alli, which was a tradition. We would do this every. single. year. We got back from our vacation and that weekend I was packing to go back to college. I was so ready to soak up every bit of my senior year of college with my friends. Then something very unexpected happened.
The night I was getting ready to go back to school, I was restless! My boyfriend from college and I had some big news to tell our parents. News that would shape the rest of my life.
As I ran it through my mind that night, I was a good student, an athlete, an artist, a dreamer, the world at my fingertips, and soon to be a mother! I mustered up the courage to tell my parents the night before I went back to school. I couldn’t picture how the last year of college would go, let alone my future. I was scared of the unknown. What would people say? What would people think? What did God think of me?
Yet, I was blessed through it all.
How so, you might ask? It was said over and over again, through different people I encountered, that this was not the end but worthy of praise.
I say this, because I look back at how my parents handled the news and their response was supportive and gentle towards any path I chose. My grandparents, aunts, my now in-laws, and friends called and assured me that my life was not over and I would be a great mom, despite my circumstances.
I clearly remember going to church the first weekend, when I got back to school. I ran to the altar and got on my knees and simply wept that service. The lady at the altar asked me why I was crying. I told her and she called the pastor over. I thought I would be in “trouble”. I felt so ashamed. Yet, the pastor said something to me that I would never forget! He said, “What a blessing, Jackie!” Even more to this side story is that the woman who was holding my hand, had her son early on in life, and assured me that I was going to be okay. That God would be my strength and that I was not alone.
It was a relief. I felt such peace. I wasn’t in trouble. God’s grace covered me. Even though life was a challenge that year, so is every day, in it’s own way! It’s how I chose to take on walking through the valley that saved me, that year. It’s what forever changed me and my husband. It’s certainly not the linear order of how I pictured the beginning of my love story, God’s story of my life to be, but it turns out I could not have planned it any better myself!
The most incredible parts of an unforgettable story are the unexpected, beautiful twists in it that happen! The fact that the Creator of Heaven and Earth created my family for me, that moves me onward.
The year 2007 was a big one! I had my beautiful baby girl, graduated college, and got married to Grant, who is my absolute best friend. I am so thankful that God chose to be faithful, even when we simply were just being human and stumbled. He picked us up and carried us onward. It’s true what God says in Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT),
“For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not harm you, to give you a hope and a future.”
Did you catch that!? God declares good things over your life, even if it doesn’t look like it right now.
As people, we can call ourselves undeserving, feel ashamed of our past, be stuck in a rut, make bad choices, focus on our insecurities, stumble, BUT God calls us up and out! He calls us to choose joy, even if things don’t look like you’ll ever see the silver lining. He places incredible people to help you sort through the messy parts of life and give them a new perspective. No longer would I call that a mess but I would call that a masterpiece in the making!
My all time favorite verse is here, Philippians 4:13:
“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”
The other day I was wondering why the apostle Paul writes this to the Philippians, while he is in prison. He expresses this unwavering faith. He’s absolutely confident that God can do all things, even though in his current state, he is in jail. Then I read the verse before vs. 13, where Paul states something so interesting. He says in vs. 12 “I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”
Yes that’s it! It’s the secret!
If I can remember how God has shown His strength in me when I had the unexpected happen vs. the expected, the uncomfortable moments of life vs. the comfortable moments of life, then I CAN truly do all things through Christ. It is humbling myself and thanking God for it all! When the kids are doing unexpected kid things--- and I'm at my wits end, I CAN find peace because they are healthy and God can give me wisdom and strength to parent them! When work feels overwhelming, God’s strength comes when my husband takes care of the things around the house so, I can get my work done. I can find joy in the struggle because I am thankful for the people God places along my journey because I know in each season of life; I could not function without them ---- that’s God’s strength!
That’s the secret to happiness! That’s the secret to peace! That’s the secret to joy! That’s the secret to overcoming ---is knowing that God can give us His strength everyday! That I never had to walk through that moment of my life alone, when I turned to Jesus. I can face any fear, dream, or moment of hopelessness and battle it with the truth! The truth is that, I am not meant to walk in my own strength. That’s when I am weak. That’s when life feels like it’s caving in, is when I think I can take it all on me. I am not mean to! You aren't either!
Last visual here, to send the message home!
Grant and I took our youngest son, who’s four, on a hike last week. We barely made it 100 feet and he wanted to sit down and have a snack and water. He kept asking along the way, “Are we there yet?” He would have moments where he wanted to stop and sit, run and sprint, walk and hold hands, or simply be carried. I remember at one point, he so badly wanted to be carried, but we were so close to the look out. We knew we were a minute from the top and he could make it the extra couple steps. Yet to him, it felt like we were never going to see, “the top of the world.” When I think of how Grant and I encouraged him, held him, pushed him along gently, I believe that’s the picture of what God does for us. There may be things that we face in life that are hard. You may not see the outcome or imagine how it will work out. But I want you to know that in Paul’s story, my story, and in my son’s story, here’s the promise ----- you are stronger than you could ever imagine, when you trust in Jesus!
When you unload your book bag full of worries, anxieties, day to day real life struggles, relationships, hurt, laughter, negative talk--- anything ---- into the book bag that Christ carries for you… YOU WILL BE STRONG! You will find strength that you never knew you could have! You may stop along the way and ask, "Am I there yet?" If the answer is no, keep on moving forward in faith. I believe you will rise up to heights you've never thought you could possibly climb! Onward!
Dear Heavenly Father,
You are our strength and our shield. Like it says in your word, that when we put our trust in you, we are helped. (Psalms 29:11). I pray that you would be our shield, and when that ocean of doubt or worry comes, you will quickly fill our minds with the things we can be thankful for so we can rest in your grace. We ask that you would open our eyes to see life how you view it, so we can enjoy it in all circumstances. I pray that you would give us the strength to handle whatever may come today. Help me to keep my eyes on you, and you alone, not being distracted by the world, which can pull me in several directions. I thank you that I can put my trust in you daily and that your plans are greater than my own!
In Jesus name, Amen.
All things are possible when you look back from glory to glory, from strength to strength. - Jackie Brindle
댓글