The Source

"So do not fear, for I am with you;

do no be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Isaiah 41:10

Fear.  The very word conjures up a different image for each of us.  I have many fears.  The fear of rejection, failure, and loss.  But the fear I am currently struggling with is the apprehension of where God will lead my husband and I in the future.  I feel like a pawn, being moved into position with no regard for my feelings, desires or wishes.  I feel manipulated.

As a result of this fear, I am putting pressure on my husband, friends and family.  I expect that they can comfort me, encourage me, say just the right thing to make it all better, or somehow set my mind at ease.  But this is unfair of me.  After all, they are only human with struggles and issues of their own.  I can't expect them to have all the answers for me!

But I can expect God to say just the right thing at the right time.  As I drifted into sleep last night, I asked God to comfort my heart, then I fell into a peaceful slumber.  When I awoke, I read my devotional as usual and here was the scripture God gave me.  "And as they followed, they were afraid. " (Mark 10:32)

God spoke to my heart at that moment, comforting and encouraging me, setting my mind at ease.  I knew at that moment that He was telling me that He understands my fear and is right there with me.

There are many things that God can give of which others are ill-equipped, incapable and powerless to supply to me.

Strength

I thought I knew a little something about strength.  After all, I powerlifted for a few years, setting records at a national level.  I have always been physically strong.  But that physical strength does not translate into spiritual or emotional strength.  I know quite a few people who are a whole lot stronger than me.

There is the young woman who lost her husband yet continues to lovingly raise her two children with dignity and grace.  Or the man who recently finished chemotherapy and radiation treatment with a smile on his face and a word of encouragement on his lips.  I can think of a woman who survived a horrendous childhood only to be greeted by a young adulthood filled with more pain and suffering, yet she walks into the future with her head held high, trusting God a little more with each passing day.   

This is the kind of strength I want.  This is the kind of strength that comes from trusting God.  When I study scripture in light of the above examples of strength I see in people around me, I notice one thing.  Weakness.  

The Apostle Paul struggled with his own affliction.  As he worked through it with the Lord, God told him that, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  From this declaration Paul concluded that, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."  (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Perhaps Watchman Nee, a Chinese 20th-Century Christian who spent the final 20 years of his life in prison for his faith, explained this phenomenon of strength through weakness best.  He said, "God's means of delivering us from sin is not by making us stronger and stronger, but by making us weaker and weaker.  That is surely rather a peculiar way of victory, you say; but it is the divine way.  God sets us free from the dominion of sin, not by strengthening our old man but by crucifying him; not by helping him to do anything, but by removing him from the scene of action."

If I want to be strong, I must be weak so that God can be strong for me.

Help

This word brings to mind The Beatles song, "Help!"  Those four spunky Brits sang about their realization that we all need help from time to time.  "Help me if you can, I'm feeling down. And I do appreciate you being 'round.  Help me get my feet back on the ground.  Won't you please, please help me?"

Yes, a friend is good in times of need.  But my real help comes from the Lord.  The psalmist encourages me in Psalm 46:1 that, "God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble." (NLT)

How many times is a friend ready to help?  I may call but my friend may be in the middle of her own crisis, or she may be busy.  I could cry out to my husband but he is tired from a long and stressful day.  I wonder who has time to give me the time of day, let alone a little help!  Then I remember that God is an ever-present help in times of trouble.  The Lord does not disappoint me, but He gives me exactly what I need, when I need it.  

Tom Tripp writes in Leadership, "Our Lord does not send us to fight the good fight alone.  The Holy Spirit is our battle partner who covers our blind side and fights for our well-being."*

Only God knows the kind of help I need, and only He is able to provide that help at all times.

Support

I have recently taken up gardening in the backyard of our South Carolina home.  A country girl at heart, this satisfies the farmer in me and brings much joy.  One of the most rewarding vegetables to grow are tomatoes.  They do well in the hot sun and produce more of the juicy, red fruit than one family can possibly enjoy.  

One problem with the tomato plant, however, is that it needs support.  The vines cannot hold the heavy fruit on their own but need stakes or wire cages to lean on for reinforcement.

It is the same with me.  I am not strong enough to hold all the blessings God pours out into my life.  These blessings come in the form of events, people or situations and they don't always feel like good things.  But just like the tomato plant with the overabundance of fruit, I need support to keep from keeling over under the weight of it all.

It reminds me of Elijah.  He had challenged the prophets of Baal to a showdown, daring them to call on their gods to bring fire down upon their altar.  After hours of prayers, prophesying and dancing, Baal failed to produce fire.  Elijah drenched his altar with water, yet God was faithful to  burn up the sacrifice and dry up all the water, sending all those gathered into a panic.  All 450 prophets were killed that afternoon, and the evil Queen Jezebel was angry.  Elijah fled in fear, at the end of his rope.

As Elijah crumpled into a pile of dejection, God sent an angel to feed and encourage him.  Then God himself passed by.  Finally, He sent Elijah on his way. . . back in the direction he came.  God has a way of encouraging me so that I can face whatever it is from which I run.

God is more than capable of holding me up in my times of discouragement. 

When I am in trouble, it is natural for me to turn to the people around me.  But God is the source of strength, help and support that will get me through this life.

As I begin this day, it is my prayer that I will turn to The Source as the giver of all good things.

How do I place undo pressure on those I love by expecting them to do what only God can do?

How can I remember to turn to God as The Source?

* Tom Tripp, Colusa, California. Leadership, Vol. 15, no. 2.