Jesus Is Our Strength

As we all know, life can throw some pretty hard things at us at times. I know this first hand when I went through the hardest trial of my life, which began on November 3, 2008. What started as a normal Monday morning, I woke up, spent time with the Lord and went to work. However I did not get to work that day, do to downsizing, I was laid off. Two days later, I woke up motivated to get with it in my job search.  But I found my lovely wife lying in bed passed away. The week before, I was on the mountain top, now my life is turned upside down and I am in the most difficult trial of my life. The pain was overwhelming.

One thing I quickly saw, when we enter into a very difficult trial, we have a choice to make. We can choose to get mad at God, do it our way or choose a worldly way of escape. The other option is to hold on to our Savior for dear life crying out to Him for His strength, healing and guidance. One will seem to be our answer as the devil will lie to us. But remember “the thief does not come except to kill, and to steal and to destroy…”(John 10:10) While the enemies lies may sound tempting, running into the loving arms of Jesus will result in our opportunity to witness Him do a work in our lives that is truly amazing. Remember, Jesus came to give life, (see John 10:10). This will also allow us the opportunity to let His light shine through us which will bless others.

One thing I really remember and holds dear to my heart during my hardest and toughest days was my daily meeting with Jesus in the park for Bible reading and prayer time. In the afternoon after I finished my daily job hunting or whatever responsibility which was on the table that day, I would feel really beat up. I would pick up my Bible, take a walk to the park and set under a nice quiet shade tree and meet with the Lord. I do not know how many times I would go out there and look up to heaven saying “Jesus, right now it a good time for the rapture! I do not want to go through this.” But every time He was faithful and set with me on that park bench. I would pray and read His Word and set at His feet, oh how precious that time was. I always felt renewed with the strength and courage to get up and go on with the day. I could not imagine what it would be like to go through something like this and not have Jesus. 

I was blown away by how the Word of God spoke to me. It was truly amazing. I would like to encourage anyone going through a difficult trial to dive into the Bible. Find some verses you can hold on to and have faith in God. One of the verses I held dear to my heart was 2 Cor. 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” The Psalms are loaded with many comforting verses. One example Psalm 30:5 “…weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.”

I was also comforted by the love and prayers of my brothers and sisters in Christ. Any time I had the opportunity to be at Church or with someone who loves the Lord; it was a time of refreshment. Even in my deepest hurt, it was a time when I could put a smile on my face and rejoice.  I would advise anyone to remain close to your personal and Church family. There is help in the body of Christ as it says in 2 Cor. 1:3-4, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”  Of course, I would advise anyone to seek out Godly council or professional help if the situation requires it. 

Whether we are on the mountain top or in the deepest and hardest trial of our life, we should always remember that Jesus is “the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through Him” (John 14:6). He will guide and direct our path through this life and bring us home to heaven when the time comes.  “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye”. (Psalm 32:8)

All scripture from the NKJV