The words fell hard upon my heart and rang repeatedly in my ears, “I have decided not to come home and will be by tomorrow to pick up a few things. I do not want to be married anymore. I’m actually in love with someone else. I want a divorce.” My husband’s piercing words cut me to the very depths of my spirit and struggling beneath the weight of the crushing news, I fell to the floor in tears!
Heavy Lifting
There, alone in my pain and with my marriage of nearly 21 years crumbling into a heap of rubble, I cried out to
God for strength! Psalm 22:19, “But you, Lord, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come
quickly to help me.”
The next few days, weeks, and months were like training for a triathlon! It was harder than anything I had ever imagined! My endurance and stamina were tested beyond belief as I fought to regain my sense of stability, balance, and focus. My resilience had been greatly challenged and I wanted so desperately to prove to myself and others that I could make it!
Although the rug of security had been yanked from beneath me, I wanted to take what life had handed me, and use it as a springboard to achieve more, become more! So, determined to never again allow life to crush my dreams, goals, and plans, I poised myself, planted my feet, and prepared to lift the excruciating weight from my shoulders.
In II Corinthians 12:9-11 we find these words, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
He is Sufficient
There I was, completely overloaded and burdened by the heaviness of managing life ALONE! My emotions were spent! I was physically and mentally exhausted from lack of sleep, the anguish, the betrayal, the deep sorrow, and just the plain stress of it all. I had no reservoir from which to pull energy and strength. This life blow had drained me dry! Yet, Christ promised to be sufficient for ME, to let His power rest on ME, and to make ME strong!
Perhaps you too have struggled to stand beneath the weight of some heavy life situation. Perhaps that is where you find yourself even today. With what may be the only ounce of remaining strength you have I urge you to cry out to God!
Matthew 11:28 says, “Come unto me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (NLT)
We do not have to carry the weight of our burdens alone! For no matter how heavy, no matter how overwhelming, no matter how difficult, God is there to help lift our burdens and to give us the strength to stand beneath the weight of them.
Isaiah 40:29 says this, “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” (NIV)
I would never have found the strength to withstand the difficulties and hardships I faced the day my marriage ended, had I not allowed Christ to meet me in my weakness. Remember this dear beloved, Philippians 4:13 says, “I CAN do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength.” There is no circumstance so weighty that God cannot give us the strength to overcome it. He empowers us! Ephesians 6:10, “Be strong (empowered) in the Lord and in the power of His might.”
We too can be “a wonder of nature”, living, breathing, walking, talking, examples of the power of God! We have been made able! Romans 8:37 tells us, “in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us!”
Training Tips
We too can establish ourselves as a heavyweight powerhouse! Be assured that in our struggle God has a plan and He purposes to use US for His glory! Today, you may find yourself in your own weighty circumstance! You may be in your own challenging life triathlon so, Here are a few training tips!
- Footing should be solid, set, and firm. Luke 6:46-49, 1 Peter 5:8-10
-Establish your life on a firm foundation. - Flexibility is essential! II Corinthians 3:18, Romans 8:29
-Exercise conformity to Christ, allow Him to bend and shape you. - Focus on the goal! Hebrews 12:2, Philippians 3:13-14
-Fix our eyes, forward direction! - Forget the past! Isaiah 43:18-19
-God is restoring you and making all things new! - Finish a winner! II Timothy 4:7, Hebrews 12:1-3, Matthew 5:12a
-Be a witness of faith and perseverance. Be filled with joy! Receive the reward! Be a heavyweight powerlifter!
My prayer for you today is this! “I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.” (Ephesians 3:16) and that you will “Be confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6) Amen and Amen!
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