When I was going through the hardest season of my life, I didn’t feel like leaving my house. I didn’t want to do anything, I was depressed and couldn’t see a future. Every thought was consumed by how bad things were. I knew I was in a downward spiral, but didn’t know how to pull out of it. One night, as I laid in my bed, I couldn’t sleep. I remember telling God I didn’t know what to do. Just then the words of a song I learned as a kid popped in my head. I heard, “The joy of the Lord is my strength,” playing over and over in my head. I began to sing it out loud with tears streaming down my face. I then remembered there was a channel on TV that played instrumental worship while showing peaceful scenes as Scriptures of God’s promises would fade in and out. That night, God began to give me the strength to move forward.
In Judges 6, Gideon was threshing wheat where no one could see him. He was afraid of the enemy that occupied Israel and was stealing their food. Just then the angel of the Lord appeared and called him a mighty warrior. He didn’t feel like a mighty warrior. He replied of how defeated they were and how it felt like God had abandoned them. Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!” (NLT) Again he asked how he could accomplish something because he was from the “weakest” tribe and he was the smallest in his family. The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.” God gave him the strength to defeat the oppressive enemy despite how he viewed himself.
Isaiah 41:10 says, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” I believe that’s a word for you today. If you’re afraid of what the future will bring, God will strengthen you to face it. If you feel insignificant and small, God can strengthen you and use you to bring victory to others. If you feel discouraged, God’s strength will supernaturally flow through you giving you strength to move forward. Stepping out in faith comes from your own strength, but the battle is won through God’s strength. When we are too tired to stand, too discouraged to fight or too downcast to hope, God will strengthen you, help you and hold you up. That’s a promise you can trust.
Photo by Dmitry Alekseev on Unsplash
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 