Strength to Endure

       Times of great stress, times of many spiritual attacks, times when you feel like you are about to fall apart from the weight and stress of your burdens is all a part of the Christian walk. It is at these times that we are being molded and pressed the most, these times are the refiners fire purging us of our former selves and bringing us to a new level in the Lord when we stay in obedience through the trial pressing into Him for strength and comfort. This past year I have felt that I have been walking through the fire, and it ended with me doing as I said above, I began seeking Him more, leaning on Him more, and trusting Him more. This past year of trials has brought me to a new understanding of how faithful God is and how important trusting on Him is.
       This morning as I drove into work I thought about this, and how as I felt like I was breaking under the stress, as I struggled to focus, that it was only when I was focused on the Lord that I felt okay, that I felt confident and sure of what I was doing. That feeling of only having clarity during prayer and bible study is what caused me to seek Him more. I was in a state of stress and confusion and I desired His peace and the confidence that being in conversation with Him provides, I needed it and I realized I had to be in the spirit to achieve it. As I thought on this I realized that's exactly the purpose of these struggles, to cause us to go deeper into Him, to see our dependence on Him, and as I realized this I found the strength to endure.
       This past year has taught me a lot about dependence on God, that God is our strength and that the less we rely on ourselves and the more we rely on Him the more we will see the truth of His word manifested in our lives. Before this year I didn't know what it meant or felt like to say "your grace is sufficient" but now I understand and know Paul's words were right. God's grace is sufficient, it is more than sufficient, it is abounding!
       At the hardest times this year I have not been alone, God has been with me and given me the strength to continue on. Whenever I felt like it was too much or I couldn't take anymore, God was with me and would provide the comfort I needed in a word from the Bible, a post here or on Facebook, or a phone call from a friend, a card or devotional in the mail, a sermon that hit home, His comfort and encouragement was everywhere. Not once has He failed to comfort me when I have sought Him, and this built my faith and trust, this allowed me to lean into Him, and to have the strength to keep going when I didn't think I could get up. God's grace and his comfort have seen me through, they have been the breathe that renewed my spirit, and because of this I know I have the strength to endure much more. In His hands I am safe, and in His strength I will abide. Be blessed my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Psalm 121:1-2
I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Isaiah 40:29-31
He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint

2 Corinthians 12:8-10
Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

1 John 4:4
Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.