At one time I was feeling pretty discouraged. Things weren’t going well. I was so tired of fighting to remain standing. I will quote from the journal that I kept while I was still involved with the business:

Yesterday morning I sincerely asked the Lord to help me through the day, but I didn’t see much of his help. On the contrary, yesterday I experienced the most stress I could ever have. The first question then is, why, Lord? But I’m not asking to say it is your fault. I want to know what I’m doing wrong. Where am I not allowing You to work in me? I don’t know.

I feel as if I’m on a dead-end road. I pray and beg and get up early to spend a long time with You. But still I can ask: so what? That’s not nice, but have I really grown? Am I closer to You? Am I taking more of You into the day? Am I the light in the world as we said we would be?

Lord, may I ask You to help me with the answers. I beg You to give me wisdom to really be a light in the world, to really make a difference in other people’s lives.

I can still remember how low I was. It was a struggle to live life. Nothing worked: not my road with God, not being a light in the world, not even the businesses kept going. I know God is solid. I know He doesn’t change from one day to the next. He remains the same.

I realized I was the weak link. I was doing something or not doing something that made it a struggle to keep standing. As a result a lot of peace and joy got stolen from my life.

I got my answer: ¹¹We 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 was my fault. I, all of us, try to live life on our own. We do try, and often with the best of intentions, to live life the way we think it should be. And we try and use our own power to keep our relationship with God going.

We try to be a light in the world with our own battery power. We try on our own to tackle the challenges life throws at us. From experience we know that it is not enough, and that is why we struggle every day. Our power is not enough to pull the train of our life with all its carriages. It doesn’t work. Obviously you, I, all of us, will lose courage, not knowing where to turn.

We must allow God’s power to start working in our lives. When God’s power is at work in our lives a beautiful living relationship with God will start growing without us having to struggle to shine a light in this dark world, and our business and work will simply flower.  Silence the noise of the own self in your life and wait for the noise of God, so that He can enter your life with all his power, changing you completely.

My friend, make space for God’s power. Stand aside a little and allow God to work in you. Don’t lose courage. Give it another chance and stand firm. Believe that God has chosen you. Know that you are special in his eyes and that He really, really wants to help you through the day. Bring those things that you’ve been struggling with to Him again. Beg Him for power and He will give it to you. Believe!

Scripture

Colossians 1:9-11

Reflection

How powerful are your actions?

How much comes from your own power?

How much is God’s power?

Prayer

Lord, I speak from experience when I say that my own power is of little use. Please help me to turn to you for help and guidance in time. You are truly an inexhaustible source of power. Amen.