Pillars of Strength - "I can’t but He can through me."

"I can't but he can through me."  I love this admission of "weakness" on my part.  I don’t know exactly when and where I first read this, but this expression has stuck with me for years now.  When I admit that I can’t do something on my own, but God can do it through me, I feel a peace come over me when facing some of the more difficult situations in life.  Realizing that God can work through me gives me the renewed strength to carry on, to continue fighting the battle no matter how insurmountable the odds against me or others may be.  This weakness I referred to is in reality a strength.

   What are some of the statements in your life that give you strength?  We would love to know some statements that inspire and encourage you and others would benefit too.  It is amazing how encouraging it can be to have pillars in our lives to give us strength.  Prayer is a pillar of strength.  Our family and friends can be pillars when they are there for us too.  Sometimes others can't be or aren't there for us.  We especially need encouragement during those times.

   Last weekend, I was on my own for the entire weekend.  I threw myself into getting some work completed that needed to be done.  The work included income taxes and "spring cleaning".  During spring cleaning, I found an old note that appears to be the handwriting of our oldest daughter, Heath.  I believe she wrote these notes years ago when she was in high school or maybe during her early years of college.  This note on the front and back contained expressions of wisdom that I am certain gave Heath encouragement.  There were statements about God and faith.  There were statements about family and doing the right thing.  I am confident she wrote these expressions down to give her reminders to think more clearly and to live her life the way she intends to live.  These words of wisdom can be "pillars of strength" in our lives.  I personally felt renewed strength as I read a number of these statements.  I felt even more connected to her when I realized that we shared in the habit of writing down expressions to give us wisdom and encouragement.

   Years ago when my Father died, I spoke at his funeral service.  As far as speaking in front of a large audience goes, this was by far the most difficult time I ever had.  I was overwhelmed by emotion.  I wanted to be sure that I somehow gave a tribute to my Dad that was worthy of the man whom I had loved and respected my entire life.  He was more than my Dad, he was my best friend and coach.  I also was a bit intimidated by sharing my deepest held thoughts and feelings about our Father in front of my Mother and my older brother and two sisters.  (I am the youngest.)  Our whole family was there as were so many men and women whom I had always known.  I remember getting alone to pray and practice what I planned to say, only to find myself weeping a few minutes after I started.  This happened repeatedly.

   When it came time for me to stand and speak, my voice was dry, my legs were shaking, my palms were sweaty and I just knew I was not going to make it through.  Somehow, I stood and spoke very clearly with as much passion as I have ever done on any subject.  And while a few words at a funeral probably can't really tell the story of a man's life, I did honor my Father that day.  I know to this day that the Lord was with me during those precious moments when I needed Him so badly.  I know some of us wonder where the Lord is in our lives, but He really is with us.  He is with you.  It just doesn't always seem like He is with us.

  I want to share something more about the words I shared at my Father's funeral.  I primarily used three "sources" for most of what I wrote in that "speech."  I read the Bible every day in preparation.  I also used a dictionary - my Dad loved referring to a dictionary.  He believed in the power of words.  I also found a notebook where my Dad had saved many of his notes of inspirations  and wisdom - sayings that he loved to remember and share with others.  Some were sayings he had heard through the years from others.  Some were sayings from books and movies.  Some were his original sayings.  I was deeply touched when I found there were several sayings he had saved that I had shared with him.  He honored my life when he used something I had shared with him for his inspiration.  We can honor each other when we share expressions that make a difference in our lives.

  I ask you to please share a little bit of yourself with others today.  Give us the gift of at least one of your statements that give you strength.  It could be scripture that especially touches you or lifts you.  We are all connected to one another and the words that have given you strength and hope may serve someone new today.  You can add your statements to the blog or on Facebook.

  There are battles in life that can be better fought with help from others.  As I have grown older, I have realized there are more battles where I can use the help of others than when I was younger and thought I was invincible.  I need my immediate family.  My siblings are there to help.  I have some great friends, business associates, co-workers and mentors in my life that help me when I need help. It is important to be there to help others.  Today, I am reaching out to you to see if you have some words of encouragement that you are willing to share in order to help others.  The greatest source of strength in my life comes from our Father in Heaven and His amazing Son.  Ask Him to come in and help you. He will.

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35

    Recently someone asked me how to influence someone she loved that she might know Jesus. How do “we” help someone else see and come to know Jesus?  How do we qualify to share Jesus?  Each one of us has issues. If we’re honest with ourselves we know we do. If we want to seek the truth in this ask someone who knows you well or even lives with you. We make mistakes. We speak when we should be listening. We want something that we know we should not want. I frequently find myself being overly critical of others instead of being more accepting. We tend to put ourselves first instead of putting others first. Jesus clearly showed us an entire life of putting others first. We are quick to anger. We just don’t seem qualified to share Jesus, do we?

    I believe it was Saint Francis of Assisi who was given credit for the saying, “Preach the gospel, if necessary use words.” I understand that this was not exactly what he said. Apparently at the time, Saint Francis was asking his brothers to avoid preaching the gospel unless they were given proper permission. He added, “Let all brothers preach by their deeds.” Today, we might say this in another way, “People pay attention to what you do, not what you say.”

    For me, this is a wake-up call. I believe most of us know we are not capable of living the gospel perfectly. Our actions fall short of our own convictions. We tend to step outside of the path that we desire most for ourselves. We’re human and we make mistakes. One of the reasons I hear people say they don’t believe in Jesus is because those “Christians” are hypocrites. This line of thinking blows me away. We quit pursuing God through the amazing gift He gave us in Jesus because of other people’s shortcomings.  Shortcomings we may also share. 

    Please reconsider this. We trust people in our lives every day to help us get food, go to work, pursue an education, invest our money and we know that each person we deal with along the way is imperfect. Hall of Fame baseball players might only get 1 hit out of every 3 at bats. We honor them by pursuing autographs, paying millions, wearing their clothing and so on. I am not suggesting that Jesus is batting .300. I am suggesting that as His followers we are imperfect.

    If we can agree on this point, then we can start pursuing Jesus and when we do, He shows up. So, how DO we share Jesus with others?

1. I believe we must seek Jesus in our lives. Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Ask Him to be with you and to guide you. Pray. Read the gospel and the rest of the Bible. If this is awkward or clumsy for you then find someone who you believe loves Jesus and ask for help. Go to church even though there are hypocrites there. As my wife once said, people go to movies and don’t seem to mind being there with hypocrites. What better place to be for all of “us hypocrites” than in church hearing God’s word?
2. Use the example Jesus shared with us in His life to learn how to lead our lives.  We’re never too old or wise to learn, especially from Jesus.  Lead your life as if doing the right thing really matters.
3. Read the opening scripture again:

John 13:34-35 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

These are powerful words Jesus shared with His disciples, His followers.  If we will put in place in our lives these words then the people you love will come to know Jesus through you.  Jesus called us to love not only our families and friends, but our enemies as well.  Love one another.  Make love a verb in your life.  When you do, you can’t help but share Jesus along the way.

Betray – to lead astray. To lead to an enemy by treachery. To fail or desert especially in a time of need.

    Being betrayed is a very painful experience.  Most people experience being betrayed during their lives.  The opposite of being betrayed is when someone stands by you in a time of need.  We refer to that as being loyal.  Being someone who is loyal and who will stand by others is a life worth living.  We especially want to be loyal to our families.  We are also called to be loyal not only to our families, but to our friends and business associates.  I have found some businesspeople attempt to redefine how business is done to exclude loyalty.  When someone suffers at their hands, the answer is, “it is just business.”  When you are being betrayed it is more than business.  It is very personal.

    Speaking from personal experience, it really hurts when someone you have trusted and been loyal to betrays you.  It provides little relief when someone rationalizes betrayal by explaining it or making excuses.  Jesus experienced betrayal by someone He chose as one of his disciples.  He knew Judas Iscariot was going to betray Him yet he chose Him anyway.  How is that possible?  How does the Son of God make a “mistake” like that.  It was not a mistake, it was meant to be.  Jesus intentionally felt the suffering of betrayal and chose being crucified because of his obedience to God.  It is so hard for any of us to imagine choosing being betrayed or being obedient when the consequences are so severe.

    Recently, I experienced being betrayed by someone I trusted for many years.  He clearly failed me and my family in a time of need.  I find myself fighting my desire to get even.  As if being personally betrayed wasn’t hard enough to accept, he also betrayed another dear friend.  This friend was put in harm’s way possibly by me because I trusted the other man so he too trusted him.  Some times when we trust someone, others trust him too.  Have you ever found yourself in that position?

    There are many lessons to be learned here.  I will touch on a few today.  Choose your friends and those you trust carefully and wisely.  Others may follow your lead.  It is hard when you see someone you love hurt by someone else and wondering if they followed your example.  You may not have convinced others to trust the person you trusted, but then again when they see you trust him, others may follow.  You can unwittingly become part of the person’s deception by your willingness to trust him or her.

    The hardest lesson might be finding the strength and will to forgive someone who betrays you.  Jesus sets an amazing example of forgiving others by forgiving those who crucify Him.  He says, “Forgive them Father for they know not what they do.”  These men are torturing Him and brutally murdering Him.  Yes, MURDER.  It is murder when you kill someone who is innocent.  Yet, Jesus spoke on their behalf asking His father to forgive them.  This is an example of unconditional love for all men and women to aspire to.

    He chose his betrayer even though He knew He would betray Him.  He knowingly allowed His betrayer to set his trap.  At the Last Supper, Jesus told his followers that he would be betrayed and that they too would walk away from Him when this happened. Peter, who was known as “His Rock” denied knowing Him 3 times. Jesus even told Him beforehand that he would do it.  These same men who ran when Jesus was crucified later upon seeing Jesus return from the grave gave their own lives so that you and I would know Jesus and his story.

    We must share Jesus with others if others are to know His story.  It isn’t to draw attention to ourselves.  It isn’t to say we have something others don’t have.  It is to give people a chance to know what was done for them.  Jesus gave His life for all of us.

    I know there are many more lessons than we can share, but I have one more for today.  Imagine asking your son to die for crimes that He did not commit.  Imagine allowing your son to die for crimes that He did not commit.  For me, imagining that is so hard.  It happened.  It happened so that the things we all do wrong would be forgiven.  The sins of the world were forgiven by this amazing act of grace and sacrifice.  Will you choose to betray or to be loyal?  Will you choose to hold a grudge or to forgive?  The choice is yours to make.

I look unto the hills, from whence cometh my strength

I look unto the hills, from whence cometh my strength

    I love those words of hope and strength.  Thank you Lord for sharing those words with me through your Word, the Bible.  I need to be more disciplined to say them every day, but I DO say them many days.  I feel weakness overcoming me.  I feel vulnerable.  I feel the temptation to give up in a situation.  I say those words either to myself or out loud.  I almost immediately feel strength returning to me.  

    I can’t remember when I first heard these words.  I believe I was a young child.  You know, in God's eyes we are all children.  The same holds true for me looking at our beloved children.  I see the 2 year old precious angel in my youngest daughter even though she is now a teenager.  I see the 10 year old loving daughter in my daughter who is now a young Mother and teacher.  I see the 4 year old amazing little boy in our son, even though he is a young man and college student in love.  We are all children of God.  We may not recognize or accept it, but the truth is still the truth. 

    Let me share with you a significant truth: It does get better when we do accept God as our Father and Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  I did not say it gets easier, I said better.  Life is better when we follow the Lord.  Our problems may continue to mount against us.  We don't have to face those problems alone.  My faith started growing when I asked Him to let me know He was there for me.  It took time for me to realize something inside of me and all around me had changed.  It wasn't immediate for me.  For others, I hear His presence is seen immediately.  For me to see Him and feel His Presence it took time.  Perhaps I wasn't ready when I first asked Him to show Himself.  I had lost a loved one and I needed to know God was real. I eventually realized God loved my Father more than I do. God created Him.  Perhaps God immediately answered, but for some time I could not see or hear Him.  What I do know is He did answer my prayers.  He will answer yours too...

   Reach out to Him for strength and you will be renewed in Him.  He will lift you up.  Ask Him to give you the strength to carry on.  He is there for you.  Just as you would help your child get up when he or she falls down, He will lift you up.  He is the perfect Father.