Strength

Strength
What does it mean to have strength?

Last week, the girls shared their testimonies on worth, strength and purpose and how they have found these to operate in their lives.
This week, we will take a closer look at strength.

Proverbs 31:25
She is clothed with strength and dignity and has no fear of the future.

What does it mean to be clothed with strength, so that strength becomes part of who we are? We can define strength in many ways: physical,  emotional, spiritual. This week looks more at the emotional and spiritual strength and where our strength comes from.

Ps 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.

Habbakuk 3:19
The sovereign Lord is my strength. He makes me a sure footed as a deer able to tread upon the heights

In other words, our true strength comes from God who enables us to have strength in him, when we do not feel strong, but who enables us to overcome. Our strength comes from the decisions we make, the thoughts we think and our ability to trust God in all things. Strength enables us to overcome challenges in life and to move on.

Have you noticed that people can experience the exact same thing and yet respond differently. This strength or resilience is related to lots of things but ultimately it comes down to choices that people make that enable them to either move forward or to be destroyed. When we live our lives from our convictions, based on who we are in God, and who God is, we will have strength.

1. I have the power of choice
We build strength when we understand that we have the power of choice. We have been given free will to enable us to exercise this power of choice. We always have a choice. The decisions we make each day will determine our future, not just the big decisions but the little decisions we make. What we choose to believe affects our life. We can choose to believe a lie or we can choose to believe the truth.

We have the power of choice. Sometimes we say "But I had no choice". This is a lie - we always have a choice. Because we have free will, and God has given us free will, he expects us to use it. We are able to make choices and decisions for our lives. Learning to make good decisions based on truth builds strength into our lives. In Deuteronomy, Moses lays out the choice for the people, blessings and curses that relate to the way they live their lives and whether they will choose to live in obedience to God or to themselves.

Deut 30:19
Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh that you would choose life, that you and your descendants may live.

Prov 2:11
Wise choices will watch over you, Understanding will keep you safe  (note some translations - wise planning).

What values do we have?
What convictions about life do we carry?

They will affect the types of choices we make. A couple of weeks ago we spoke about worth. Our worth is a conviction that we carry. When we have strong, positive convictions about who we are, we are more likely to make good choices based on these convictvions, even when the decisions we need to make are really hard.

What areas of life do we hold strong convictions about? Our convictions may relate to God, family, self, health, finance, education or any number of things. When we hold strong convictions and live from them, they will affect everything and allow us to put appropriate boundaries in place. What we choose to believe will affect what we do.

If we are struggling with negative convictions the good news is we can change. We may hold convictions based on the lies we were told about ourselves - e-g. I'm no good, etc. But we can learn the truth and develop convictions based on truth. As we do this, the ability to make good choices also develops. We can choose to believe what others have said or what God says about us. We can choose to live by what is right.

We have the power of choice.

2. I can take control of my thinking
One of the most exciting things is that God has given us the ability to take control over our thinking. We are what we think, because what we think determines the choices we make, and we are the consequence of those choices. This is sometimes hard, but the truth is that we can change the negative patterns of thinking that creep in to our lives.

We are able to take control of the random thoughts and the not so random thoughts that flow through our brains. Our brains are amazing things and God has created them in a way that enables us to take control of our thinking. Our brians build structure according to what we constantly think about, so when we constantly think negatively, that is what is reinforced, but if we think in a positive way, that too is reinforced. The Bible says be transformed by the renewing of the mind, changing the way we think.

Romans 12:2
Don't copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you which is good, and okeasing and perfect.

Eph 4:23
Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.

We are not to live like the world does, letting every random thought have its way, we are to take them captive  (2 Cor 10:5), and to make decisions about whether or not this thought is appropriate, helpful or unhelpful for us, and deal with it accordingly.

2 Cor 10:5
With these weapons we break down every proud argument that keeps people from knowing God. With these weapons we conquer their rebellious ideas and we teach ten to obey christ.

In other words, the ideas and thoughts that rise up that are in rebellion to the truth of God's word can be conquered and taken captive. When a thought comes into our conscious mind, that is when we are able to change the nature of it and how it affects the structures and pathways in our brains. We can actually change the pathways in our brains and we can choose to accept or reject the thought. We can choose to change our convictions and to have God's convictions about us as our convictions.

If the thought is already part of the structure of our brain we can rework the thought, we can transform our thinking, by understanding where that thought comes from. We can  look at the truth of that thought in the light of God's word and who we really are, and we can begin to change the nature of our brains and the thoughts.

Calvin and Hobbes is a cartoon about a little biy with an active imagination. He imagines himself in all kinds of situations and where necessary, he transmogrifies into something different. This is cute in the cartoon, and totally in his imagination, but the truth is we can change our thoughts - rewire and transform them, from something that is harmful to us, to positive thoughts.

For example, thoughts like "I'm no good", "I'm hopeless" etc. can be changed. We may think this because we have been told this and somewhere along the line we have chosen to believe it, even though it isn't true. But each time we dwell on it, we make that pathway stronger in our brain. Instead we can, when that thought arises, choose to reject that thought, and to "rewire" our brains by deliberately choosing to think about the truth of who we are.

It takes practice but it is very possible and God's word enables us to know the truth about ourselves, the truth about our situations and circumstances and to dwell on what is good and right and positive instead. By doing so we break down negative patterns and pathways and build good positive patterns and pathways.

Our thoughts are powerful. We can develop a stop think act approach to our thoughts. We can learn to "catch" the thought, to think "is this a good thought", "is it truth" etc. then we can act upon it by accepting or rejecting it. People with true strength, know how to take thoughts captive and to deal with them. God is the one who enables us to do this. He tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our mind, so that we can understand what his will is, what his thoughts about us are, what the truth is. Instead of believing the circumstance has control, we believe that God is in control.

Ps 63:6
I lay awake at night thinking about your promise.

Ps 103:5
He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagles.

What we think about is what we become. The psalmist is choosing to meditate on God's word, on the promises. He is choosing to rewire his brain and to know what God says about him, allowing what God says to dictate his life and actions. Instead of believing that God is against us, we can acknowledge the word of God that says that if God is for us, then nothing can be against us. We can think about the word of God that says, He is able.

What changes to your thinking might you need to make?
What thoughts do you need to take captive?
What will you do today to begin to change the way you think?

3. I am not dictated to by my emotions.
Feelings are real and they are given to us to help us understand what is going on internally for us, and to enable us to process and move forward. They help us to deal with situations, but they should never dictate our actions. When we are struggling with emotions, we need to look at the emotions, and to understand where they come from. Thoughts and emotions are connected. How often do we think about a situation and then we realise we are feeling an emotion, either good or bad, that is attached to that thought?

How do we deal with emotions when they arise, and seem to want to overwhelm us?We need to acknowledge that the emotion is there and exists.

1. What am I feeling? - identify the emotion - am I happy sad etc - e.g we teach kids to identify and say how they are feeling.
2. Why am I feeling this way?  - what are the circumstances etc.
3. What choices do I have? - we always have choices
4. What action will I take? - take positive action

What often happens is instead of processing the emotion before we act, we allow ourselves to become overwhelmed and act from emotion, rather than from good decision making processes. Instead we can learn to acknowledge, identify, and understand the feeling, then we can look at choices and act accordingly.This is learning to respond rather than react to a situation. Emotions unchecked affect everything we do but we can learn to be in control of our emotions instead of them controlling us.

Strong people do not ignore emotions, they have simply learnt to not let them dictate how they will act, or negatively affect their decisions.

In 2 Sam 11, we see King David allowing his emotions to dictate his actions and it caused him issues. He saw Bathsheba and lusted after her and he let his lust dictate his actions which lead to adultery and murder. Later in 2 Sam 19, he is in mourning, it was a difficult situation, but his son had been trying to take the kingdom, the soldiers had saved David's life but in the process his son was killed. This was a horrible situation, but in the process of mourning for his son, he was so overwhelmed, that he forgot what the real situation was - his son had actually been out to kill him. He let his emotions overwhelm him and forgot his duty to the people who had saved his life.

In Luke 22:39-46 we see a right reaction. When Jesus was going to the cross, he too was overwhelmed with emotion, so much so that sweat and blood poured from him, (the Bible says he was in agony of spirit) yet he did not allow what he felt, to dictate his actions. He said instead - whatever your will is God. He acknowledged his emotion - and he looked at the choices and made his decision on God's will and not his own. When we identify our feelings, especially when someone has hurt us, we can look at what happened and then make decisions based on that. We can choose to forgive, we can choose to talk to someone, we can choose to go to that person and work out the problem with them etc.

What negative emotions am I allowing to control my life?
What steps will I take to ensure my emotions do not rule my life?

4. My strength comes from God.
When we allow God into the picture, he brings strength to our lives. When we learn to trust him in every situation, even when we don't understand what is going on, when we learn that he wants his best for us, then we will find his strength sufficient.
The apostle Paul acknowledges this in 2 Corinthians.

2 Cor 12:10b
When I am weak, he is strong.

Paul understood, that when he felt weak, when he felt he was not able, that was when God was proved strong and able. There are times in our lives where things are heavy and we can't see a way through or understand what is going on. In these times we can draw on God's strength to enable us to go forward. He promises to strengthen the weak, to be our strength for us.

Ps 23:3
He renews my strength, He guides me along right paths, bringing honour to his name.

Ps 28:7
The Lord is my strength and my shield.

When we are feeling that its all too much, God is there to strengthen us, we can trust in him.

Is 40:31
Those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength. They will run and not grow weary they will walk and not faint.

True strength is found in God and in who God is. He gives us strength to make the difficult decisions and to stick by them, and to live his way.

Eph 3:16
I pray that from his glorious unlimited resources, he will empower you with strength through his Spirit.

God is able to bring true strength to our lives. His resources are unlimited, he is there for us to call upon his name and to find our strength in him.

What do you need strength for today?

Trust God for his strength.

Conclusion
As we make good choices, as we learn to transform our thinking and learn to understand and process our emotions, we will develop strength in our lives. Ultimately, our strength comes from God.

Are we willing to trust God, and to draw on his strength for our lives, letting him in to transform us?