A walk down memory lane today…
For so long I identified strength as the ability to belt out profanity, to stand on my own, to be independent, and to be hard around the edges. When I got into a relationship with the Lord I learned that my concept of strength was wrong. I found the closer I got to the Lord the more I came to understand that what makes me strong is my ability to forgive, my ability to dole out mercy, and my ability to love especially the unlovable. I needed to be soft… it was a hard transition and still is.
I was raised most of my life by a single mother just trying to survive. She came from horrific abuse as child and in return was a child-bride, trying to out run past trauma, she came from such a religious background her perception of God was completely skewed. She had been hurt by the people that were supposed to protect her the most by giving her shelter, physically, emotionally, and spiritually- that did not happen. You can’t out-run your past trauma but you can heal from it eventually.
Because of such wounds she raised me with a concept to be fiercely independent which lead to the idea that I should never need anybody. This did not serve me well as I kept most people at least two arm lengths away. In fact, there were many times during the first years of my marriage I told my husband I didn’t need him and to not let the door hit his butt on the way out. Bless him, he endured me as the Lord was reshaping me and it was hard!
The truth is we are created and designed to need people in our lives. Our strength lies in how we are able to let people in (despite the scars of past wounds) and love them. The ability to continue to love and need people is the part of us that extends and reflects the Lord’s image in our life (as we were created in the image of God).
It took me a long time to realize my strength did not come from myself but the Lord. He gives me the strength I need to be an overcomer. I can do nothing by myself but my help comes from the Lord.
In 2 Kings 11 there is a woman name Jehosheba, her part is small and there is not a lot written about her but there doesn’t need to be, what is written speaks loud enough. She comes from a family that is completely dysfunctional. We are talking about a family that was part of a religious system that believed in child sacrifice, a grandmother that killed all her grandsons except one, and the definition of horrendousness… And yet out of that chaos, out of that horrible mess rose a woman with courageous faith.
She did not let her family history deter her from God. She refused to be a victim of bitterness and she refused to stay in dysfunction or to be defined by her family. She walked in grace and mercy. Through all of that ugliness she was still receptive to the Lord. I don’t know about you but that makes my heart sing a little bit. Why? Because even in an environment that is hostile to God’s goodness, an atmosphere of murder, revenge, evil deeds, self-plotting… God can raise a conqueror!
I don’t know what your family background is and I don’t know what you consider strength to be, I can only tell you my story and how the Lord has opened my eyes. I am not perfect but God is… And no matter what you have faced or are facing right now God’s plans for you are good and His desires are to endow you with strength to rise above. When life leaves you stranded in the desert God will provide you with wings.
God never abandons us but cultivates within us the ability to fly and overcome the highest mountains… It is my hope and prayer that you receive those wings and overcome whatever you are facing.
Good Afternoon Ladies…
Psalms 121:1 I look up to the mountains—
Where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!
3 He will not let you stumble;
the one who watches over you will not slumber.
4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel
never slumbers or sleeps.
5 The Lord himself watches over you!
The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
6 The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon at night.
7 The Lord keeps you from all harm
and watches over your life.
8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever. (NLT)