How Do We Define Strength?

"[T]he weakness of God is stronger than man's strength" (I Corinthians 1:25b).

"God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong" (I Corinthians 1:27b).

What images come to mind when you hear the word "strength"? Maybe a medieval king who conquered many lands. Maybe your father or grandfather who served his country by fighting in one of the wars during the last century. Maybe an oak tree that has been providing shelter to birds and squirrels (as well as humans from the heat) for decades. Maybe a lion, fierce in the wildness of an African plain.

What about a child with cerebral palsy whose body is so twisted he can't walk? What about a child whose hair has fallen out because of the chemotherapy? What about the families of these children who, despite the agony of watching their children suffer pain, still proclaim their faith in a loving God?

This week I have read two e-mails about two different children who do not enjoy the health that most children do. I don't know either of these children personally or their families, but I know people that do. It is apparent that these families love their God, and they have passed that faith on to their children.

Are these moms, dads, siblings, and children any more remarkable than you or I? Not really. We all have the capacity to be strong. These families just know to whom to look during the dark times, when it seems that things couldn't get any worse. Last night I read a passage from F. LaGard Smith's Meeting God in Quiet Places that, despite the topic, was encouraging to me:

As with Job, so with us all: Death happens--and disease, and alienation, and fear, and loneliness. At one time or another they all come screeching into our lives. Trouble never phones ahead for an appointment.

When you feel like you aren't strong, remember that you--you by yourself, in your power--were never meant to be strong by the usual human perception of it. God defines strength by your reliance on Him.

Lately my husband and I have been working out regularly. (Your body is a temple....) Sometimes those last few repetitions of shoulder presses seem impossible. My arms shake, sweat drips off my face, my cheeks puff out as I struggle to push those little (yeah, I'm out of shape) dumbbells up. Sometimes life seems like that, doesn't it? The great thing about life, though, is that we can let God finish up those last reps for us. And He's always there next to us, spotting us, in case we begin to slip.

God uses what the world considers weak to give Himself glory. And He empowers us in the process. If you're feeling weak, remember that God is with you to make you strong.