If you came over from Encouragement for Today, welcome!

Have you ever felt less than strong?

The other day I ran a mile and walked two more. When I started running I felt strong, but then I hit a hill, then another. My husband was keeping a steady pace ahead of me and I was determined to keep up.

Except I couldn’t.

I can walk for miles at a steady clip, but I haven’t mastered running yet. My husband runs miles and miles, and he has to remind me that he used to feel the same way when he first started.

In today’s devo I shared the story of my son’s wreck and how this usually-strong girl felt anything but.

And how God whispered these words from scripture: When I am weak I am strong.  I hope you go back and read that if you haven’t, but I promised to share four things that can help when you feel less than strong.

Feeling less than strong does not mean you are weak

When life hits with full force, it’s okay to remind yourself that you are human. You know what it is to endure, but when it hits so hard that it’s overwhelming, it’s acceptable to know what you are capable of, and what is left over is God’s to carry.

Recently I was talking with someone and they said, “I don’t think there’s anything I can’t do on my own through sheer will power”.

As a cancer survivor, as a momma who knelt beside her son’s bedside after a drunk driver hit him and seriously injured him, I have to say that there are some things that can’t be accomplished through sheer will power. Some things are bigger than us, and that doesn’t make us weak. It means that we know our limitations and we turn to Someone greater.

Don’t isolate

When you feel less than strong, you might pull back. From church. From people. From God.

It’s when you need those things the most.

One word. One prayer. One touch. It might be what carries you through the next moment.

Write it Down

This might sound odd, but writing is cathartic. It allows you to share how you feel. If I look back at my journal I find words of faith, but also honest words of “God, I have no idea how this is going to work out”.

The beautiful thing? Time shows me exactly how it worked out. Perhaps, like my son’s accident, I simply see how God carried a tired, hurting mom through a difficult time. But how amazing is that? In the meantime, keeping a journal gives me a place to talk honestly about what is taking place.

Eat

When you are under attack one of the first things to go is your appetite. It’s no different spiritually.

Spiritual hunger is different than physical. If you are hungry in the natural, you eat and are satisfied. In the spiritual, it’s the exact opposite. The more you eat, the hungrier you get.

Hungrier for God’s presence. Hungrier for direction. Hungrier for intimacy with your Heavenly Father. And therein lies power to take you through the hard times to the other side.

If you don’t feel like “eating”, I get it. It makes perfect sense. But eat anyway. Sit quietly in His presence. Wrap yourself in worship music that soothes your heart. Read a passage. Pick up a great book or devotional that feeds your soul.

And the more you “eat”, the hungrier you’ll get and the more you’ll find what you need to nurture you during this time.

Do you feel less than strong today? I’m reaching through cyberspace to tell you “I know how it feels and I’m sorry”, but also that there are miracles to be found in this hard place as you let the Strong One walk through it with you.

Suzie