But you, Lord, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me. Psalm 22:19
Rabbi David Wolpe tells the story of a father and son walking along a path. They come across a huge rock in the road. The son flexes his muscle and asks if his father thinks he can move it. The father answers, “Of course, if you use all of your strength.” The son tries and tries, but it barely budges. He gives up, exhausted. “You said I could move it if I used all my strength. You were wrong.” The father crouches down to his eye level. “But you didn’t use all of your strength. You didn’t ask me for help.”
When I heard that my heart crunched. How often have I relied on my own strength thinking God prepares me for whatever comes along so I can handle it myself? True to my Anglo heritage, I put on a stiff upper lip and soldier on. Then alone in my room, exhausted and frustrated, I admit my weakness and cry out as tears flow.
When did I forget that I can only do all things through Christ who gives me strength, not because Christ has given me the strength to do it on my own? (Philippians 4:13). He prepares me by teaching me to trust Him. He comes alongside and adds His power to my powerlessness. In my weakness, I am made strong because I lean on Him through faith in Him, not in my abilities.
Paul knew this. He told the Corinthians in his second letter- But he [Christ] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me (12:9).
Life has a habit of dropping boulders in our path. Illness, job loss, divorce, death, betrayal. Instead of asking for God to give us the strength to endure, let us 
ask our Father to use His strength to help us. He will help us find a way around it, under it, over it, or to move it away. We were never meant to battle this world on our own. Our faith is not weak if we cry out for help. Our strength is multiplied when we apply faith to our situation and ask Dad for help.
Lord, teach me to lean on You more and less on myself. As I get older, there are more and more things I can’t do on my own. I need Your strength. In my weakness I am becoming stronger because You are right there with me, helping me. Thank you, Dad, for coming each time I call on You. May I return the favor and come each time You call on me to be Your example of love to the world. Amen.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields it fruit in season and whose leaf does nto wither; whatever they do prospers. (Psalm 1:3)
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