When Life is Overwhelming and Strength is Gone
Sometimes the struggles of life take us under and sweep us away into unknown depths we have never experienced.
You want to be strong, have faith, and smile through the storm, but tears, unknowns, and difficult scenarios bombard your mind faster than your faith can respond.
We all have those seasons. For some it’s the loss of a loved one who seemed to hold the family together, for others it’s separation in a relationship that has held on for years. Perhaps it’s the words of a doctor that swirl inside your heart until you cannot handle another word.
When life finally begins to unravel, it seems there’s no turning back. The downhill spiral feels impossible to reverse.
It’s hard to know what to do when you’re in this place. The normal things you want to enjoy feel more like an obligation than enjoyable, yet the days roll on and you desperately desire a moment of rest and relief.
When you wake up and the struggles of life still sit heavy on your chest, where do you turn? How do you move forward? And where do you find the strength to press on?
I know you expect the typical “Christian” answer – “Stand up and put one foot in front of the other.” But, what if I said, “Don’t get up”?
Sometimes when we try so hard to move on from the things that weigh us down, we really end up running away from reality. We don’t realize it until we are exhausted from fighting against everything that is happening in our lives.
Rather than running, let’s sit. Let’s rest. Let’s get on our knees and let God know we believe He is our only strength. As long as we try to fight this life in our own strength, we will buckle beneath the weight every time.
I’m not strong enough to walk through the trials of life alone and neither are you.
We don’t have to be strong enough.
When we realize our true strength, hope, and peace comes from Jesus, the load doesn’t change, but how we carry it does.
This doesn’t mean we are jolted to our feet with a smile plastered on our face through every up and down of life, but it gives us grace to walk, when we feel like we can’t take one more step. It gives us mercy to fall, when our strength is completely gone. It gives us comfort to cry, when our hearts physically hurt from the woes of this world.
Whatever you’re going through today, you don’t have to be strong enough. God moves mountains, speaks and the wind obeys, and He holds the power to strengthen your heart when it feels like every bit of strength you’ve ever held is gone.
Hear my cry, O God,
listen to my prayer;
from the end of the earth I call to you
when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
that is higher than I,
for you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the enemy.
Psalm 61:1-3(ESV)
As long we continue in our own strength we will wrestle and worry. When we give way to God’s power, we will learn His ways and see His works. As we seek Him more, we will know Him more and find the strength we need.
If tears fall, let them. If your heart hurts, let God hear your need. If He doesn’t answer, stay put and listen. Don’t run. He is there when the winds are overpowering and water is rising, and He won’t leave when the conditions threaten to destroy everything normal.
He stays. He comforts. He gives peace and calms trembling hearts.
You are not alone in this life.
If you’ve experienced seasons of unknowns when it seemed your strength was gone but God sustained you, share it with us in the comments so others can be encouraged and inspired to rest when life brings unrest.
Share this with someone you love!
Love & Blessings,
Micah
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Micah, thanks for this wisdom. I’m definitely a boot-straps girl, and a strong believer in “do the next thing.” But I also realize that there are times when I have muscled through something that I would have been wiser to have sat with and waited — renewed strength is what Isaiah calls it. Much better than make-shift strength!
I’m a boot strap girl too, but God keeps reminding me to drop the boot straps and let Him take hold of them. Oh the freedom and strength there. I always love your transparency and encouragement, Michele! Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us!
Praying for God to uphold you and your family as you walk this hard road. You are so right, God calls us to rest in Him. We have to rest so He can restore us for what lies ahead. Blessings!
Thank you for your prayers, Liz! That means so much to me! I hope you have a blessed week!
I am so grateful we do not need to do it on our own. “He gives peace and calms our trembling hearts.”
Me too, Joanne. So thankful!
This is wonderfully said! Thank you for sharing on Happiness is Homemade Link Party!
Thank you for hosting!
Thank you Micah very much for sharing your wonderful words of wisdom!
I try to rest in Him and give Him my grief burden and then find that I go through a vicious cycle. First I give it to Him, then I take it back, then I get so overwhelmed by it that I have to give it over to Him again! Whew, it makes me tired just seeing it in print!
Praying for God’s peace and healing for your family.
Love,
Teresa
Teresa, Oh girl. I know that cycle too well. I do the same. I think so many of us do. Keep handing it over, sister! I’m over here doing the same! Thank you for your prayers for my dad! Hugs!
Amen! It is so self-defeating to feel like we have to muster up strength on our own. “We’re depending on God; he’s everything we need.” Ps. 33:20 (MSG) Visiting from #mommymoments today and grateful for your post :)
I love the word in the verse you mentioned, “dependence”. That’s where it’s at. When I learn to depend on Him, I stop trying to fix everything and do everything in my own power. Thank you for your wisdom today, Angela!
Love this Micah and love your reminder “we don’t have to be strong enough.”
great post micah:) there must be a lot of overwhelmedness going around. i’ve been feeling that way and i’m not doing the 31 day challenge. we reached some similar conclusions…just different Scriptures:)
I’m not doing the 31 day challenge either. Sometimes you just can’t do it all. Thanks for stopping by, Martha!
The load doesn’t change but how we carry it does. – This is so true. I needed this reminder. Holley, Jennifer, and Suzie’s talk last night was a hint, so is this. Thanks, friend.
Meg
I loved their talk! So encouraging and helpful. Sometimes we just need someone to tell us to take off the superwoman cape and slow down. Good to see you here, Meg!
Amen!!!
Amen, Micah! Thank you for the reminder that He is our strength! It’s not up to us!
Love this!
Found your post today on Sitting Among Friends.
Hope you have a wonderful day~
Blessings,
Melanie
I love this thought: “Sometimes when we try so hard to move on from the things that weigh us down, we really end up running away from reality.” It’s true that we believe our culture’s lies that we should just get up and move on, but we try to do so without being still and knowing that He is God. I’ve written about some of my experiences briefly at:
https://plantedbylivingwater.wordpress.com/2016/09/16/joy-comes-in-the-morning/
Thank you for sharing your blog with us!
Wow……so powerful! I am going through a season with God that started really when the bottom dropped out for me about 10 months ago….He has pursued and pursued me to get me to understand His love in a way I never have in all 41 years of my life despite growing up in a Christian home…..I never really followed Him. Christian school…..Christian college, church every time the doors were open. God has rocked my world but has brought me to my knees looking for my surrender so I feel called to stop, sit with Him a while and push through some of this stuff with Him. Tough for this girl who always plows ahead but need to listen to Him in this now. Afraid but know He will see me through and make me stronger if I don’t fight it!
Tracey, your story is inspiring. I think we all have our own moment of realization that we must stop pushing ahead. It naturally brings fear because we can’t see the next thing and we start to feel like if we don’t push forward everything might collapse even more. But God is continually teaching me to just let Him carry me through. I will pray for you Tracey, that you will continue to surrender as you go through this season. And like you said, you will come out stronger for it. Hugs!
God is our strength through any storm, and this post is very encouraging for those who are experiencing a storm. It is ok to hand our burdens and sorrows to him for a time. Like it says in Ecclesiastes, in every season there is a time. Thank you for sharing on Talk It Up Thursday!
I’m learning that this is a daily discipline I need to practice every single day. I’m so thankful that no matter what we face, we have God as our strength and comfort.