Glory-Strength

"We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long
haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us." Col 1:10-12 (Msg)

What is strength? When I was little, I thought it meant being tough. My family is a bunch of true cowboys. Ranchers, hunters, construction workers, truckers, you get the picture. Tough, strong, rough guys and gals. Don't show weakness, or you'll be taken advantage of. Don't cry - it will show your weakness. Don't talk about the hard times you're going through - somebody else has it tougher. It won't do you any good, anyways, because talking can't fix it. Be charitable, sure, but don't go out of your way to do something nice - people take advantage of "nice" people.

Strength has always been, to me, the "gritting your teeth" kind. The pulling up your boots kind. The "put on your big girl panties & deal with it" kind. And yet, that strength has gotten me nowhere. I cannot endure the unendurable with that strength, and it certainly does not spill over into joy. And that is because I am trying to do it in my strength, not His.

It is so easy to fall into the "I do it myself" mentality. Madison is there right now, and it's really funny. She thinks she can do it herself, then gets so frustrated when she can't. And I do the same thing. I try to endure life in my own strength, then get so frustrated when I can't. And, all the while, Daddy is standing there saying, "If you'd just let me help..."

Lord, help me to live in your strength. Help me discover the glory-strength that brings joy in the midst of hard times. Thank you that you consider me strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that you have for me. Even the hard times are bright and beautiful in your eyes, because they refine me. And thank you that you understand that it took me this long to discover that I will never be strong enough on my own.