When My Strength Isn't Enough

Psalm 28:7, "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him."

Tonight, I picked up my Bible as I sought God to fill the longing places of my heart that only He can fill, and this is the Psalm I read. As I read through Psalm 28, I noticed the word "strength".

Lately, I haven't felt very strong. There have been moments where I feel I can take on the world, but at other times, I've felt burdened down and weary. There have been many moments that I've felt weak.

As I looked at the schedule for my life, part of me praised God for the many things going on so I wouldn't be bored, but another part of me felt tired and run down.

This is why when I came across the words in this Psalm talking about strength, I noticed that word jump off the page.

"The Lord is my strength..."

As I read this, I was reminded that my strength isn't going to be enough on it's own! I need the Lord to be my strength! I need Him to be the One that I find courage in when I feel weak and feel as if I am not going to make it. When I think of God being my strength, I no longer can say, "I just can't do it." Instead, my statement changes to, "Although it may be true that I can't do this in my strength, I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me!" (see Philippians 4:13).

When I continued on in reading Psalm 28:7, more and more stood out. I was shown that I no longer needed to fear anything. I didn't need to fear tomorrow and whether life would go as I had planned or if it would take some unexpected twists and turns. When I trust God, I can find peace that He will help me and get me through no matter what tomorrow brings.

God helps me. He isn't going to leave me alone to face life on my own. Rather, He is going to stand by my side and help me... strengthening me along the way.

As I realize that God is my strength and my shield, I begin trusting Him. When I trust Him, I find that He helps me, and because of this, my heart leaps for joy! As my heart leaps for joy, my attitude changes from one of weakness to one of strength and power!

Truth be told, in my own power, I don't have the strength to be the person God wants me to be. In my own power, I can't do it... BUT we aren't talking about my strength or power! We are talking about God's strength and power!

I am weak... BUT He is strong!

I am tired... BUT in Him I find rest!

I feel burdened... BUT He tells me to come and cast my burdens on Him because He cares for me.

Tomorrow is uncertain to me.... BUT I know the One Who is the same yesterday, today, and forever!

It is true that our strength isn't enough, but because of Jesus, we are more than conquerors! We don't have to be pitiful, puny Christians. We don't have to allow our circumstances to determine the outcome of our day. Because of Jesus, we can feel weak but be so strong! We can feel tired but find the rest we need in Him. We can feel burdened, but we can also cast our burdens on Christ because He cares for us; and what we are carrying isn't too heavy for Him. We may not know what tomorrow will hold, but we can rest in the fact that we know the One Who holds our every tomorrow!

I encourage you to stop trying to find strength in your own power! You will wear yourself out trying! Instead, try this approach with me:

Dear Heavenly Father,

I must admit that I've been trying to be strong in my own power lately, but it just isn't working for me. Lord, I have great intentions to be someone You'd be proud of, but I'm finding that without you, I fail miserably. Father, I give up on trying to rely on my own strength. I give up on trying to have the strength on my own because I'm too stubborn to admit that I can't be strong on my own! Thank You, Jesus, that I don't have to be weak, though! I have all the strength I need in You! Father, as I write this, it is late, and I need to physically get some rest. I pray that You will give me the true rest that I need... not just physical rest, but rest spiritually and emotionally so I can wake up with complete strength! Thank You that You are my strength! Thank You that You are more than enough because what I have in me in my own power isn't enough! In Jesus' Name I pray.

Amen.