I am moderately good at a few things. Some of my skills are kind of weird, like being able to identify snakes. (When you are a runner, you want to know if that moving stick is a good guy or a bad guy!) However, some skills that are easy for other people are hard for me. Like swimming. Yes, I really cannot swim! Oh, I can dog paddle and float, but I truly do not swim well and even refused to own a pool. I was afraid that a child would fall in, whom I wouldn’t be able to save.
When we were on vacation, we rented a boat and spent a peaceful day on the lake. I wore a lifejacket and all was good. Until I got hot. I wanted to get into the water to cool off a bit. I didn’t plan to go far from the boat, so I removed my life jacket so I could go under the water to get my hair wet in order to cool off. I figured I would be able to tread water for a minute then get back into the boat. But I didn’t consider how choppy the water was.
I went under water to wet my hair, then tried to come back up, but the choppy water pulled me back under. I came up again only to be pulled back under again. The third time I came up, I gulped, “Help,” before going back under. I felt my son-in-law’s strong arms pulling me up, and he guided me back to the boat. I was okay, but I realized how foolish I had been to take off my lifejacket. I had misjudged my own ability and strength. And I had misjudged the strength of the water.
I have a friend who made a similar mistake. Only her near-drowning was not in water, but in drug addiction. She was clean for a long time. Then she misjudged her ability and strength. She had experienced some victories and told herself, “I’m strong enough to handle it just this once.” That was the beginning of her spiral right back into addiction.
Before she went back into rehab, I talked to her about it, and she asked me to pray for her to be strong. Thinking of my water mishap, I didn’t want her to feel strong. Trusting in our own strength can be fatal. We are never strong enough to combat sin in our own strength. She needed to know her weakness.
The apostle Paul understood this concept when he wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that he would boast about his weaknesses so that “Christ’s power may rest on me…For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Paul understood that his own strength paled in comparison to that of an Almighty God. He joyfully embraced his weakness, so he would rely on God’s power rather than his own.
We drown relying on our own strength. It may not be lake water or drugs for you. Maybe it’s controlling your anger or your tongue. Maybe it’s about trying to save a marriage based on the world’s counsel instead of God’s. Maybe it is about trying to pull yourself out of the pit of depression. Friend, your own strength isn’t enough for those deep waters.
There is no shame in wearing a lifejacket. There is no shame in going to rehab or counseling. But there is shame when we are drowning in sin because we keep weakly fighting our own battles instead of turning them over to the strength of an Almighty God.
Whatever it is that you are trying to do that is not working for you…friend, please ask God for help. He will give you answers in His Word. And feel His strong arms lifting you up, carrying you to the place where you are safe.
It’s one of the first songs many of us learned. Why is it so hard to live as if we believe it?
Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong; THEY ARE WEAK, BUT HE IS STRONG.
Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.
(lyrics by Anna Bartlett Warner)
“The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation,” (Psalm 118:14).
“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need,” (Hebrews 4:16).
STRENGTH
I watched them play outside my door,
The children playing tug-of-war.
The chubby hands would grasp and grope
To get a grip on the piece of rope.
Their laughter rose above their fun;
They’d see which side was the stronger one!
The rope went back and forth again;
It was hard to tell which side would win.
Then the advantage went to the farther side;
“Hey, we’re winning!” They shouted in pride.
Then I heard the sound of a heartier voice,
And a father’s voice chuckled, “Need some help, boys?”
He took the rope from the losing end
And tugged till they had the advantage again.
Then they planted their feet, and he stood back to see
As they pulled and tugged till they had victory.
Both teams then surrounded the child’s amused dad—
Of course they could win with the strength that he had!
It was all in good sport, and they laughed before long,
Knowing the father made the winning team strong.
As I turned from the doorway, I thought of their game
And realized as a Christian my life’s much the same.
We are constantly pulled between battles within,
And often we wonder which nature will win.
For though through Christ Jesus we have been made new,
We still have our old nature tugging us, too.
In watching those children, I could then clearly see
Just how in our battles we can have victory.
For just as that father had helped in their game,
Our Heavenly Father will do just the same.
We need only to ask Him for His strength that is great.
It’s not from ourselves; it’s God’s power to create.
So next time in the battle, remember just where
Your strength is to come from— your Father does care!
-Bobbie Perkins c. 2022
*Note- I am nearing the end of my training for Biblical counseling certification. If you need to talk about some struggles in life, I will be available to begin counseling in a few months. I definitely don’t have all the answers, but I believe God’s Word does. My training focuses on just that—helping us to find together the answers to problems in the Word of God.