the Strength within Us All

The strength of most people amazes me.  Through the years, I have had the privilege to walk along side people as they were asked to endure great hardships in life.  Some were more than most would be able to endure.  Time and again, I have been amazed by the resiliency and strength that the human spirit is able to muster up.

From losing a loved one too soon, to life altering tragedies- people have the unbelievable ability to survive.  I have sat with a son who held his mothers hand as she passed from this life, not ready to say good-bye to the woman who cared for him his entire life, and watched him turn around and comfort the staff who felt the loss of that incredible woman.  

We have all heard stories of people who have overcome great tragedy and found success.  The ING New York City Marathon is full of these stories- all the para-athletes, the first time marathoners, those who have overcome personal losses; all run for different reasons, all succeeded.

When life gets you down, and it feels as if you cannot go on- it is so important to remember that your God created you for a purpose.  He gave you every single thing that you will need to get through every trial that He asks you to walk through.  Our God never promised us that being followers of His would make our lives easy, or that we would never experience hardship, but He did promise us that He would be there with us.

Philippians 4:13 is a well known verse, but I think summarizes the human spirit perfectly, "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength".   What a comfort!  How many times I have heard people, believers and non-believers alike utter these words.  God gives us the strength we need when we need it, if we just believe and rely on him.

With all recent increase in reported violence in the news, I am forced to wonder if these men knew their Lord?  The shootings at LAX, the Washington Navy Yard, the mall in New Jersey- all great tragedies that should never have happened.  They point to a great depth of loneliness, desperation and weakness on the parts of the perpetrators.  It saddens me that anyone feels so desperate and alone, that they would ever feel the need to end their lives, or the lives of anyone else.  

If they knew the power of Christ, they would know that He walks with them, He feels their pain and suffering and He always has bigger and better plans for us then we ever have for ourselves.  When God allowed  Satan to afflict and test Job, even Job felt despondent and lonely, in Job 10:1 he states "I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free reign to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul".  In the end, Job came to understand that Gods knowledge and wisdom is greater than his and that Gods love for him was more than he could ever comprehend.  He learned to trust God and to find patience in suffering.

I have seen people undergo long illnesses and keep their spirits high; they all point to God for their strength.  We need to keep encouraging one another and reminding each other, that within each of us is the incredibly strong human spirit, which has been created and is nurtured by God to help us walk through trials, which will shape us into better people and bring us to bigger and better things!