Finding Strength & Courage

Do you ever fear that you are simply too weak to move forward and face the challenges in front of you? I think that most people do from time to time, and I know for a fact that in this healing process there are times when a person simply feels as if “strength” and “courage” are completely foreign concepts.

As I was going through withdrawal not only did I feel physically weak—fatigued from head to toe and atrophied from periods of less physical exercise—but I also had many days where I simply felt weak of spirit. As you know the mornings can be tough, and many mornings I wondered how I would ever get up to face the challenges of the day.

Beginning the morning with short prayer and devotion helped. I didn’t leave those 5 minutes of spiritual time in the morning feeling totally healed or like Superman, but I felt as if I’d been given just enough to take the first steps out of bed. And then, throughout the day, I’d find verses and prayers to give me just a little more comfort and strength … and then a little more.

To finish the week we will focus on two verses that might help you to find courage and inner strength when you are feeling weak. I hope that they help you to face the challenges of today and beyond.

Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

I think that sometimes we feel as if God is only with us at certain times or in certain places. Perhaps He is only with us when we are remembering to pray or read His word. Of perhaps He is only with us in church, or when we are browsing the aisles of a Christian bookstore. This verse reminds us that He is with us at all times. There is no situation during any day when we are without His strength, love and protection.

So, if you feel very weak and afraid to begin the day, remember that He is right beside you as you sit up in bed and then take the first steps to begin your day. He is with you in the challenges you anticipated, and in the ones you didn’t see coming. There is no situation that is outside of His presence or power, and even if you go through a period of the day where you forget to focus on your faith and instead give into worry after worry, He is right there with you—waiting to embrace you and redirect your attention.

Don’t be frightened, He will bolster your fortitude and walk before you all day long.

Hebrews 13:6 “I will confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me?’”

I find this verse especially comforting when worried about “people problems.” This verse reminds us that no matter how difficult or even ill-intentioned a person or group of people is with us, God is at our side and protecting us. Who among mere mortals can penetrate His protection? No one.
But I also read this verse the following way: “What can man-made problems (i.e., the worries of this world) do to me when God (who is above all) is by my side?”

When it comes specifically to withdrawal, I don’t see the situation as a punishment from God but rather as a consequence of man's tinkering with the systems of body and mind that God made. Pharmaceutical problems are man-made problems, withdrawal included, and this verse says that man (and problems of His creation) ultimately don’t have the power over us. God has the power and final say, and His light, love and healing can and will reach into your situation day by day if you seek Him.

So take comfort, no matter how afraid and weak you feel at times, God has ever-ready comfort and strength to offer you. Remember, He is with you at all times today and as you navigate any challenges of the upcoming days.

Have a blessed weekend,

Michael