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If we have God’s strength inside us, shouldn’t we be able to do anything? Why do we experience burnout when we’re doing the things God called us to do? Are there limits to what we can do with God’s strength? And what are those limits?
Podcast Transcript:
Intro
Hi friend, I’m Brigette Henry. And you’re listening to the One Spiritual Journey podcast where I share stories from my spiritual journey and teach you how to walk closer with God on your spiritual journey. I’m so glad you’re here because that means you want a deeper relationship with God. In Colossians 1:28, Paul says,
“We proclaim Him warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”
And that’s my goal for this ministry: to help present you mature in Christ. So, grab your coffee, or your tea if you’re a tea addict like me, and let’s dive into today’s topic.
God’s Strength
I’ve been struggling with migraines recently and I would appreciate your prayers. But today’s topic is really inspired by that struggle with migraines because I’m struggling to rest. And to work. And to know how to rely on God’s strength.
So, specifically, I will choose to rely on God’s strength, but what does that look like? And when should I rest? And when should I push through and trust that His strength is going to carry me through something?
Have you ever felt called by God to do something, and then found yourself burnt out? And you wondered, like, God, if you wanted me to do this, why didn’t you give me the energy and the strength and the vitality, everything that I needed to get this done?
I think a lot of us are confused about when we should accept human limits and when we should push through them and rely on God to carry us through. We seriously misunderstand what it means that we have God’s strength in us.
Philippians 4
Philippians 4:13 says,
“I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
Now, a lot of people use this as a kind of mantra, like, I can do ANYTHING! Because I have God’s strength in me, I can do WHATEVER I put my mind to.
But when Paul said this, he was talking about being content in any situation. So, Philippians 4:11-13 say,
“I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.”
In Abundance or Need
So something that stands out to me in this passage is that Paul talks about being content whether he is in abundance or in need. And I found this quote by Charles Spurgeon in the Enduring Word Commentary that I think really brings out the struggles that we have when we have abundance. He says,
“There are a great many men that know a little how to be abased, that do not know at all how to abound. When they are put down into the pit with Joseph, they look up and see the starry promise, and they hope for an escape. But when they are put on the top of a pinnacle, their heads grow dizzy, and they are ready to fall.”
I think sometimes we feel called to do something by God and we throw our all into it. And we think, it’s OK! If I’m running low, God will catch me! But in all circumstances, we actually need to rely on God’s strength. And God doesn’t just give us strength to work as hard as possible. He also gives us strength and wisdom to know when it is time to rest.
So how do we rely on God’s strength and use it appropriately? How do we know what is God’s will and what is our own will? How do we discern those things? How do we rely on God’s strength in all circumstances?
God’s Strength for His Will/Priorities
I think, first, we need to understand God’s will and priorities. So, there are three things I want to teach you today about God’s will and priorities that I’m learning.
1. He wants us to produce good fruit.
In John 15:8, Jesus said,
“my Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples.”
2. He choose good works for us to do before we were born.
In Ephesians 2:10 it says,
“for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.
3. He was a will for our lives.
He has desires and intentions for how life should be. In 1 John 5:14 John says,
“this is the confidence we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”
Now, there’s a reason John specified, “according to His will.” God is not a genie granting wishes. He knows what is best for us and He’s not just going to give us whatever we want. He is going to give us things “according to His will”.
Now, that’s a big conversation because we can talk about absolute will and permissive will, and all of those different aspects of God’s will. But the important thing to understand here is that when we have a desire that is outside of God’s will, He is not necessarily going to give us the strength to follow through with that desire.
God’s Will For Our Lives
In 2 Timothy 2:21, Paul says,
“so if anyone purifies himself from anything dishonorable, he will be a special instrument, set apart, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.”
God’s will is that we purify ourselves from anything dishonorable, so that we can become a special instrument, set apart and useful to Him, prepared for every good work. For all of the good works that He had already planned for us. Being set apart means to be sanctified, holy or consecrated. We talked about that last time when we talked about Sabbath and how the Sabbath is a day holy and sanctified and set apart and consecrated for us.
When we have desires that are apart from God’s will we need to purify ourselves of those desires so that we can be set apart, so we can be useful to Him, so that we can be prepared for the good work He has actually planned for us to do.
Delight in the Lord
And this is the part that really gets me about God. In Psalm 37:4 it says,
“take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.“
When we delight in God, our heart’s desires naturally align with His will, and we are no longer out of alignment with Him.
So if you’re struggling with understanding His will for your life, or with desiring what you believe to be His will for your life, spend time with Him. Learn to delight in Him. Spend time in His word. Spend time in creation. Slow down. Experience silence and solitude with Him. Engage in prayer. Engage in silence, waiting for Him to speak to you.
Give yourself space to learn how to delight in God because when you do that, your desires, your heart’s desires will naturally begin to align with His will.
God’s Strength and Human Limits
Now, the other thing we need to do is accept our human limits. We often think that God’s strength should allow us to do what is humanly possible. But God works within our human limitations to show His glory. In 2 Corinthians 12:9, Paul says about God,
“but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.’
Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.”
A few examples of this from scripture:
Moses was a murderer who was sure God had chosen the wrong person. But God used him to fulfill a generations-old promise to give His people the Promised Land.
Esther was a woman with no power, who could have died for going to the king without being called. But God used her to save His people from genocide.
Peter denied Christ three times. But God used him to start the church after the resurrection.
These people found their strength in God, and God used them to do great things. He didn’t ask them to have superhuman strength. He asked for obedience where they were at. And because it was obviously in God’s strength and not theirs, all of the glory was given to God.
All You Can Do In A Day
God is asking you to accept your human limits and obey Him where you are at.
A quote that has been really helpful to me, especially recently as I haven’t been able to take care of my home and my family the way that I’m used to is this quote I found on Instagram years ago. It says,
“God won’t ask you to do more in a day than you are capable of doing.”
God knows your limits. And He’s not asking you to surpass human limits on your own. He’s asking you to let Him work through your human limits because that is how we glorify Him.
Relying on God’s Strength
So, we understand God’s will and priorities, we accept human limits, and now, we surrender our lives and rely on God’s strength.
How do we do that?
I’m going to use the ACTS prayer method to walk you through this concept. This is a great way to pray and surrender your life and ask God to help you rely on His strength.
ACTS Prayer Method
So if you’re not familiar with the ACTS prayer method, you use the acronym ACTS and each letter stands for something different.
A stands for Adoration – You start with praise and adoring God.
C stands for Confession – You confess your sins to Him.
T stands for Thanksgiving – You thank Him for what He’s done and Who He is.
S stands for Supplication – You make your requests known to Him and ask Him for things.
So we’re going to use that method and I’m going to teach you a quick way to surrender your life to God.
Adoration
So first, Adoration. Acknowledge that it’s only through His strength that we’re able to do anything. In John 15:5, Jesus said,
“you can do nothing without me.“
And that is so true. Like, we can do things, but they have no value. There is no true eternal value to the things that we do apart from Him. So begin by acknowledging that it’s only through His strength that we’re able to do anything.
Confession
Confess your desire to run ahead of Him, to take control, to do your own thing. Or to take His place. Confess the desires that you have that are not within His will and ask Him to help change those desires so that you can be completely focused on His will for your life.
Thanksgiving
Thank Him for His patience. That’s at least what comes to mind for me. If other attributes of His come to mind for you, pray about those. But for me, I want to thank Him for His patience. In Exodus 34:6, God describes Himself as being “longsuffering” or “patient”. And the way He describes it is honestly, kind of adorable because in the original language what He actually says is “my nose has a double portion.” Or like, “my nose is twice as big as a regular nose”. And that was an idiom at the time. Somebody with a large nose was somebody who was patient. So when God said that His “nose had a double portion” or His “nose was twice as big as anyone else’s nose”, He was saying, “I am very patient.”
We do have a very patient God. And even when we are not grasping His will for our lives and we are constantly trying to pursue our own desires, He is still patient with us. So thank Him for that. And anything else that comes to mind as you’re going through this.
Supplication
Ask Him to help you go at His pace and know His priorities and His will for your life.
Relying on God’s strength means we know His will and priorities, we accept our human limits, and we surrender to His plan and His will for our lives. I hope that this discussion today has helped you understand how we can do that and how we can surrender our lives and our will to Him.
My prayer for you today is whether you have much or you have little, that you rely on God’s strength to use it for His honor and glory.
Outro
Thanks for joining me today! If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to like, follow, and comment so I can help women become mature in Christ. A few things before I go:
First, I would love if you prayed for me, my ministry and the women I impact whenever you get a chance. And if you need some help, I have prayers on my website you can pray over each of those things.
You can find links to the resources I mentioned today in the show notes. If anything is missing, or if you have any questions, please email me at brigette@brigettehenry.com. My name is spelled differently, so you can also find that email link in the show notes.
If we haven’t connected yet, let’s connect! You can follow me on Instagram for encouragement and to see the behind-the-scenes of my spiritual journey. I also have a weekly email newsletter if you would like to get updates on new podcast episodes, access to my freebie library, and more! You can find links to all those things in the show notes.
Lastly, if you are located near Northeast Ohio, I’m working to establish myself as a speaker. If your church has any upcoming women’s events, I would love to be your speaker! You can contact me through the link in the show notes.
Thanks for listening to One Spiritual Journey. I hope to hear from you soon! Bye!
Links:
Things I Mentioned Today:
Enduring Word Commentary: https://enduringword.com/
Connect With Me:
Contact me: brigette@brigettehenry.com
Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/onespiritualjourney
Join my mailing list: https://brigettehenry.com/subscribe
Other Fun Links:
Visit my website: https://brigettehenry.com
Notes:
Music by AudioCoffee via Pixabay
All scripture is CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
All Greek word definitions come from Strong’s Definitions. You can get access to this resource and more at blueletterbible.org.
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