Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things though Christ who strengthens me."
When looking fir a forum to write I posed the question on what we could discuss. My friend Blue_ladybug suggested "strength". Looking at the difference between rely g on our own strength compared to relying on God's strength. So what does this actually mean to rely on God's strength? When talking about this subject some great examples come from our own Ives and I will share experiences from my own life. I won't be telling you these things to puff my chest and say "hey look what I did", but I will be using them to give examples on how God gives us strength. The main point will be on the Spiritual and mental strength that God gives us but there are a few examples of physical strength also. For example; the other day at work I had to help a guy load some bags of concrete into his truck. I weigh 135 lbs and each bag weighs 80 lbs. I have serious arthritis in my knees so lifting is difficult let alone carrying 80 lbs on my shoulder. I prayed and asked God to give me strength and help me. 20 bags of concrete in his truck. 5 min later I had to help another guy load 20 sheets of drywall into his truck. Again I prayed to God for strength. Not my normal position but I was covering for another guy so he could take his lunch. Through this example we can see how God can give us the "type" of strength we need depending on the circumstance.
But I digress as this is more about how God gives us the Spiritual and mental strength we need when we face circumstances where without Him our minds would break down. Every day we face things where we have a choice to confront them with our own strength or rely on God for strength. Do we face these things saying "I got this" or do we pray "Lord, I need your help."? Do we tell ourselves or others "grit your teeth and bear it" or "buck up little camper" (from the movie "better off dead")? Or do we pray to God "Lord, I cannot do this on my own"?
So when people who know me and know how bad my ostio and rheumatoid arthritis are and ask me or say "I don't know how you do it." They have just opened the door for me to say "only by the strength of God am I able to do this". So both Christians and non Christians that I work with know that I rely on God's strength no matter what situation I find myself in. So in this forum let's discuss and study the difference between relying on our strength compared to relying on God's strength.
Psalm 27:14 "Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!"