Relying On God For Strength

Camille Calagos, Australia

"but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." – Isaiah 40:31

devotional

This scripture both convicted and guided me in dealing with what I went through in the past few months. I had to be reminded that I need to stop, seek God and ask for renewal of strength.

Living in Sydney and being a disciple can be quite challenging and exhausting most of the time. Sydney, as Australia’s most populated city is always busy, bustling and there is always something happening. The past few months have been reasonably difficult for me - managing my time between being a disciple and an employee. As a disciple, I am committed to the body and to fellowship which means that I need to attend devotionals, bible talks, midweeks, church services and bible studies. Meanwhile at work, I needed to devote longer working hours as at that time, we did not have enough resources to meet our global deadline. I remembered feeling exhausted, stressed, and anxious during this time. There were even times that I would miss devotionals or fellowship activities because I just did not have enough strength and energy after working longer hours. While going through this, I started questioning myself - why do I feel tired and helpless?

Then I encountered this scripture and realized that I was feeling tired and helpless because I just relied on my own strength and did not intentionally ask for God’s help. I had to accept the fact that I cannot do everything on my own and I needed help. If I keep doing this, I can easily fall and stumble which would impact my physical, mental and specifically, my spiritual well being. This scripture taught me that I need to rely on God’s strength and that only he can sustain me. Most of the time, I can turn to other things first and forget that I have a God who is just waiting for me to call on him. This scripture is an assurance that God is our unending source of strength and if we keep on seeking him – he will renew our strength and we are empowered to do more for his kingdom.

reflection questions

• What are the things or activities that can easily exhaust or stress you out?

• In relation to the above, how do you cope with exhaustion or stress?

• What does it mean for you to “hope in the Lord” and what does it look like in your life?

challenge

Memory scripture:

“I can do all this through him who gives me strength." – Philippians 4:13