Strength Will Indeed Rise

A little over eighteen months ago, things went terribly pear-shaped in our worship community. After one particularly difficult encounter where really harsh judgment and punishment was dispensed toward us, we chose to make a drive and worship elsewhere. We visited a church in a nearby town where we know the tradition and worship would be so totally different than our usual experience, we felt we would be able to relax and reconnect with God.

It was there that I heard Chris Tomlin's "Everlasting God" (lyrics by Brenton Brown and Ken Riley) for the first time. I stood with tears running down my face as we sang the words "strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord." I was wondering if strength would ever rise again. At that moment I felt so weak and battered, that I had little hope.

Over the next months we practiced "waiting on the Lord." I had to daily, or more often hourly, choose to wait on him and to trust him in the situation. I continued to feel weak and unable, but he continued to give me just what I needed when I needed it. That waiting time would lead to a cross-country move and a lot of healing.

Recently we stood to sing worship with our new faith community. Once again the song was "Everlasting God" and once again the tears were flowing. This time, the tears were out of gratefulness that strength had indeed risen. The ironic truth is, however, that I am still weak. I'm just not defeated in my weakness.

It was never going to be my strength that would rise. It was always going to be his strength. As I trusted him, I learned to rely on his strength. My trust allowed his strength to pour out and manifest in 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 about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
~2 Corinthians 12:9-10~

If you are struggling today, be encouraged. His strength will indeed rise and will be manifested in your weaknesses, if you trust him with those weaknesses.