Strength isn’t something you drum up on your own. If you’ve lived long enough, you know your own strength runs out sooner or later. You come to the end of yourself and find that no matter how hard you try, some things are just too heavy. But the promise was never that you’d find enough grit or willpower to make it through. The promise is this: you’ll never face it alone.
“When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.”
God isn’t shouting encouragement from a safe distance. He steps right into the flood and the fire with you. He joins Himself to your journey. Together. Never alone.
It’s not just that He walks beside you. He binds Himself to you. Your pain is His pain. Your struggles are His struggles. In Christ, your story and His are forever woven together. He has made Himself one with you so your valleys become His valleys, your burdens become His burdens.
“My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
There’s no shame in weakness. It’s only when you run out of your strength that you discover His. The gospel doesn’t call you to be self-sufficient. It calls you to rest in the One whose strength can’t be broken, whose love can’t be worn out.
Not the sheep’s strength, not the sheep’s smarts. The Shepherd doesn’t depend on your ability to hold on to Him. He holds on to you. That’s where real strength is found in letting go of your efforts and simply leaning into His life, His sufficiency.
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.”
He is not only with you. He is in you. His life is your life now. He is not a visitor who comes and goes. He is your constant, unfailing companion, your strength, your hope, your rest.
You may feel like you’re walking through the fire, but you are never alone in it. The Shepherd who cannot fail is with you and in you. His strength is enough. Always.