Inner Strength

I am amazed sometimes at how much people have to deal with in life and just how gracefully they do it.  The amazement comes when I get a glimpse into their life, their REAL life, a life I never knew existed. . . not because it is kept secret but because they are working hard to manage it all with a happy face.  There are some real heroes around us!  We are surrounded by some very faithful, faithfilled, faithsoaked disciples who have way more to deal with than we could have ever imagined!  They do it quietly.  They don't gather everyone around them and spill their guts about it on a regular basis. . . they simply do what they have to do to take care of each other, take care of life, take care of the situation.  Amazing and wonderful and awe-inspiring to say the least.  To get a glimpse of their inner strength is a sight to behold.  

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. (Isaiah 43:2) 

Where does that inner strength come from?  How can we get some of that?  It cannot be picked up and bought from aisle four at Wal Mart.  It cannot be donated and re-purposed from a friend (though good friends are critical to this whole strength piece).  It comes from the God who walks with us. . . who journeys through life's ups and downs, twists and turns, highs and lows.  It is acquired over time.  It becomes a part of who we are as we fall at the foot of the cross, begging for mercy, forgiveness, strength, courage and an ability to trust in the One who loves us most.  

God says, "When you pass through the waters," not IF you pass through, but WHEN you pass through the waters, "I will be with you."  That's the promise plain and simple.  When you pass through the raging rivers with waters that will sweep you away and potentially drown you. . . God says "I will not let it happen!"  When you walk through the fire. .  the blazing, flaming, heat of destruction (but also refinement) I. . . Will. . . Be. . . With. . . You!!  Protecting you.  Loving you.  Carrying you if I have to!!

Cling to this promise. Believe it.  Hold it tight.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Image Credit:  Moses Parting the Red Sea by Marc Chagall