American evangelist D.L. Moody said, “When a man has no strength if he leans on God, he becomes powerful.” That’s a beautiful quote that makes us feel good, but in reality, most of us haven’t yet learned to live that way.
One night a couple of weeks ago I was home alone and doing some cooking. I tried to open a jar of salsa, and the lid wouldn’t budge. I tapped the top with a knife and tried again. Still nothing. I pounded the jar on the edge of the countertop and twisted with all my might. It didn’t move. I tried again, feeling my forehead break into a sweat, and still, the jar didn’t open. I wrestled with it for twenty minutes and gave up in embarrassment. Later, when John came home, he twisted the lid with ease and effortlessly handed me the open jar.
At least the analogy wasn’t lost on me.
Sometimes I’m confronted with things I don’t have the physical strength to do. When that happens, I rely on my husband to provide the strength I lack. In this inconsequential case, I didn’t have the physical strength to open a jar of salsa. I had to rely on John’s strength. It’s not that I didn’t have the desire to open the jar. I would’ve preferred to open it myself, but I wasn’t able to.
In a much more profound and life-altering way, we will be confronted with things that are emotionally, physically, or mentally too much for us. As much as we might want to, we won’t have the strength to meet the challenge. It might come in the form of a problem at work, parenting, a broken relationship, diagnoses, divorce, chronic health problem, or a culmination of all the above. It might come from the stress of everyday living. Perhaps a variety of things will pile up at the exact time our strength level hits an all time low. And we will find ourselves without the strength we need to keep going.
Perhaps you’re in that season now. If so, I’ve got good news for you.
“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” (Isaiah 40:29)
As Christ-followers, we have the privilege of relying on God’s strength and not our own. This concept is not just a nice sounding quote from an American evangelist. It’s how Christians are called to live and thrive in even the most difficult of circumstances. God has resources we don’t have and power we can’t produce.
Practically speaking, how do we rely on God’s strength?
- Depend on the promises of God and move forward in faith. To rely on God’s promises means to take Him at His Word. I like to find Scriptures that apply to my particular circumstance. Those promises give me the faith I need to keep going, trusting God will make a way. For instance, if I’m weary and running low on strength I’ll call to mind Isaiah 40:29 multiple times each day and remind God that He’s promised to give me strength and increase my power when I’m feeling weak. In my experience, my renewal comes more like an IV drip rather than a tidal wave. Still, I move forward in faith, doing the next thing I need to do and trusting God will do for me as He promised. I can relax knowing I don’t have to muster up phony strength or resources I don’t have because God is faithful to provide His.
- Ask God For What You Need. This seems obvious but so many people fail to pray. Those who are prayerless will be powerless. God invites us over and over in His Word to call upon Him in prayer. Psalm 50:15 says,“Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” Christians who want to thrive in this world have to become people of prayer. There is no other way.
Imagine how foolish it would’ve been if I hadn’t asked for my husbands help with the jar. Yet Christians make a far greater mistake when we fail to rely on God’s strength and choose to depend on our own. D. L. Moody’s words aren’t just a feel-good quote. For the Christian, they are a way of life, and they are true. “When a man has no strength, if he leans on God, he becomes powerful.”
