Sometimes I feel so fragile.
Not life itself, but me: Nichole Marie Criss, editor, blogger, pianist, entrepreneur, #girlboss — the young woman of who I am in my heart and mind. And I would venture to say that most females — you included — often feel the same way.
We take pride in being strong, independent, Apostolic young women — and that’s good and right and ok — but there are times when we feel like we can’t go another step. We battle with feelings of inadequacy. There are moments we feel as if we can’t make it through another day; we feel like who we are is simply not enough to attain the level of perfection we set out to achieve in our lives.
People depend on us. Our hustle seems to move us through the daily faster than ever before. Deadlines screaming for completion, all while feeling like impossibilities. Family demands attention. Emotions cry to be let out, yet we repress them with a vengeance and promise to deal with them later because, well, there’s just no time to deal.
And although these moments are emotionally draining, physically exhausting, and oh-so-daunting, it’s in these moments that we’re at our weakest that Jesus is at His strongest. It is in the moments of our inadequacy that He swoops down and lifts us out of our despondency with His perfect strength. It is in our weakest, darkest hour that Jesus’ strength is magnified and we realize just how much we truly need Him in our lives.
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
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.
{Isaiah 40:28-31 ESV}
Waiting is hard. Isn’t it? Maybe not for you, but for me, oh darling… I have a hard time waiting; patience is a virtue, yes, but it’s a virtue that I’m still working on possessing. Big time. But Isaiah tells us that this waiting stuff is actually a pretty big deal to God because it shows Him that we’re attempting to follow Him, to please Him, to worship Him — and those that do? Well. There’s a whole bunch of amazing things that He has for us.
Jesus knows that in our humanity we will get tired. He knows that we have limitations in our flesh, in our spirits, our hearts, our minds. And because He loves us, He is going to lift us up in our time of need. He is going to give us understanding, wisdom, power, strength, restoration, redemption, love, and peace.
If we just wait upon Him, we’ll find that:
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1. When we get tired, emotional, hangry, or worn out, Jesus never faints nor grows weary.
2. When we just don’t know anything — we don’t know what the problem is, we don’t know how to fix the problem, we just don’t know, Jesus knows — and even better – understands it all, even when we haven’t got a clue.
3. When we feel powerless, all power in heaven and earth belongs to Our God.
4. When we are at our weakest, when we have no will to go on, Jesus will increase your strength beyond your comprehension.
5. When you feel ready to collapse from exhaustion, rest assured that Jesus is waiting to restore you and will make you soar like eagles.
Because His strength is always perfect for us; because His strength is always enough for us.
Yes, yes. That waiting business is hard. It’s actually terrifyingly difficult. But darling! If we just wait on Him, He will strengthen us. And it is within His strength that we succeed. It’s within His strength that we have everything we’ll ever need.