There is a relentless source of strength available through the love of Jesus Christ that expands beyond any of life’s weaknesses. –Rhonie M. (2014)
It’s hard to believe that I wrote such a profound statement at one of the weakest moments in my life. I had such a defining level of confidence that has somehow slipped away as of late. An array of life’s circumstances have indeed put obstacles in my way. Mountains of concern that keep coming into my view changing my perspective from assurance to doubt.
My emotions tend to send me into a conundrum of whether God has the strength and the capacity to love me. Does He love this person with this physical shell that needs a renovation or two? Will the construction needed be too much of an overhaul for God? Isn’t funny how easy for me to try and rationalize what I think God can or cannot handle, as if He was just an ordinary person not the creator of the universe.
What I’ve done is try to relate God’s strength and love for me based on human constraints that are limited and run out. I’ve felt too needy in the past for my family and friends so surely, I’m too much for the Lord…these are the thoughts that can creep in when life hits me with what seems like impossible blows. Now is the perfect time to demolish this type of mindset with some foundational reminders directly from God’s word starting with God’s strength.
God gives power to the weak. And to those who have no might, He increases strength. Isaiah 40:29
It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. Psalm 18:32
God has commanded me. I am strong and very courageous in Christ; I am not afraid, dismayed, for the Lord my God is with me wherever I go. Joshua 1:9
The Lord is my strength and my shield, and my saving grace. Psalm 28:7-8
God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26
I am strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Ephesians 6:10
These are just a few scriptures that let me know that God’s strength is not short lived. It is constant, non-stop, untiring, and never broken. His strength is relentless!
Now that I’ve addressed God’s strength let me address the other area that gives me struggles and that is God’s love. If I base my idea of His love on human standards, it’s no wonder I have doubts. Human love can be given and taken away depending on feelings and emotions in the moment therefore if I equate God’s love as operating on conditions other than a love so pure and constant I’ll forget He sent His only begotten son to save my soul. That is a relentless kind of love! God devised this plan for mankind and a relentless kind of love that Christ bore for me in giving His live as atonement for my sins. Again, let me go to scripture to knock down any rising uncertainty about God’s love for me.
One of the best scriptures to focus in on this amazing live is Paul’s prayer in Eph 3:14-19,
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom [a]every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the [b]saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
If I still have a lack of confidence Romans 8:37-39 brings it home,
38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The love of Christ is relentless!
Let me tie everything together from up above so that not only my mind but my heart is secure. There is a relentless source of strength available through Christ’s love that expands beyond any of life’s weakness because there is no end to either. I cannot extinguish or vanquish it. I can’t drain it all away like a battery, in fact I will be energized with amazing love that will make me more that a conqueror through Christ.
BY: Rhonie McBerry
Rhonie is a licensed radiation therapist providing care to those battling cancer. She learned to embrace a new normal after being diagnosed with Crohn’s. disease and uses the power of words to encourage others to see past their darkest day to a brighter horizon. She is the author of Embracing a New Normal, God Has Drawn The Blueprints Vol I &II, Words That Surround Your Soul devotionals, and a host of blog posts on her website www.RhonieSays.com. Her hobbies include reading, photography, liturgical dance ministry, and eating sweets. Rhonie is the mother of two children and two granddaughters and she makes her home in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband of 22 years.
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Very good.Thank you.
this an every so bright spot in times deemed by man to be defeated due to the Pandemic. But God says live in his strength rather exists in our weakness. Thanks for this word in Jesus name.
So good. Thank you Rhonie for your encouraging words.