In the Stretching Is the Strengthening
Finding true strength through surrender, suffering, and the grace of God
A few months ago, my body started to experience a combination of sudden, and what felt like random, health struggles, triggering experiences of overwhelming anxiety and fear. In the midst of these struggles, I received encouraging words, friends rallied around me in prayer and fasting, and my mind daily fed on the truth of Scripture and the comfort of God’s promises.
Despite these grounding stakes in my soul, moments arose when my heart struggled to experience the reality of what I know is true.
I would imagine I am not alone in this experience.
How often have you read the truth of Scripture and longed for your body and soul to come into alignment with what your mind knows is true?
How often do we read verses such as Isaiah 41:10, “So do not fear, for I am with you…”, yet when we read this encouragement, our hearts know fear?
We may try to grit through the incongruency between the truth our minds know and the fear our hearts and bodies feel. Striving and grit compel the heart to try harder, rallying our own strength.
In these moments of self-striving, we may resolve a shift:
“OK, heart, don’t fear. This is not your portion… faith, faith, faith… Just try harder. Pray more.”
I have realized in these moments of earnest vulnerability that the source of my own strength is never enough. Rather, it is in these moments I have come to treasure the strength of my weakness as the starting point of God’s glory.
Trials expose lies we believe and truth the Lord desires to plant firmly in our hearts.
The past few months, I’ve come to a much deeper understanding of the biblical understanding of strength.
When I read Isaiah 41:10, “Fear not”… and my heart fears… I sense the Lord’s gentle whisper against the condemnation and war of my own heart:
“Daughter, I command you to not fear, AND I then empower you to not fear. This is MY work to complete in you.”
It clicked. The abundant grace of God.
The Lord does not give us promises and commandments with the expectation that we embody them in our strength. The kindness of God clothes us with promises while granting us the grace to wear these promises of truth.
Strength doesn’t mean we feel strong. It doesn’t mean we have self-fortitude in circumstances. It doesn’t mean we will ourselves to faith and peace.
Strength simply means we allow our hearts to be stretched by the Lord as we shift our gaze to His power.
In the stretching is an increased capacity to house the Spirit of God, which, according to Ephesians 3:17, results in the faith of Christ dwelling in our hearts. Faith is a gift granted (Ephesians 3:16) through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, providenced by the kindness of God.
In the stretching is the strengthening!
Suffering or unwanted circumstances have the potential to stretch our hearts like nothing else. The crisis of the soul when one encounters fear can be the gift that fuels steadfast faith.
Fear possesses a unique ability to make us aware of fleshly limitations.
When we do not run from our fears, we experience an encounter with limitations of self that produces deep surrender. When the soul genuinely encounters fear, the soul is invited to a new depth of surrender.
Deep, heartfelt surrender empties the soul of striving and self-reliance.
The result is beautiful, holy death to self.
In the death of self, by the grace of God, a deep cavern is created where the Lord deposits His righteousness of faith.
In death, new life springs.
In other words, the gift of coming to the end of ourselves, often a by-product of unwanted circumstances or suffering, is surrender. And in the places of deep conflict with our soul (faith versus fear), space is created for Christ to dwell in our hearts.
This is where true faith is built—a faith not built on self-efforts, but a faith only the riches of the Glory of God deposit in us.
This, my friend, is where we find true strength in ANY circumstance.
The beautiful invitation in this truth is that we can stop trying harder.
We can ease into the discomfort of being stretched by life, pouring out our hearts to God, trusting the Glory of His riches (Ephesians 3) to strengthen us with the indwelling of His Spirit as the faith of Jesus finds home in our hearts, remembering that sweet surrender, a fruit often produced in suffering, enlarges the capacity for the Holy Spirit to deposit His riches in our hearts.
As the battle with fear rages, be encouraged.
Genuine conflict in the fight of faith results in deep surrender when our gaze is directed back to our Savior.
We can rejoice in vulnerability and conflicts of the soul, knowing these tender places are the battleground of genuine faith.
We can let go and let God.
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