Trust, Quietness, and Joy – A Biblical Definition of Strength
The older I get, the more keenly aware I am becoming of my own inability to do anything in my own strength. The more I try to make it through my long to-do list, the more I realize how desperately I need God. Each day I wake up with more to do than I can conceive is possible to accomplish, and I’m convinced more than ever that I need a biblical definition of strength, because the world’s definition of strength doesn’t cut it.
The World’s Definition of Strength
We live in a culture that encourages us to power through and dig deep to get through busy or trying seasons. We’re told that self-reliance and independence make us strong, and success and notoriety are indicators of strength. We’re encouraged that grit and hard work are the answers to our problems.
In short, our modern culture’s idea of strength is self-centered. From the world’s perspective, our strength is defined by our own ability and success. It’s all about what we can pull off.
At the end of the day, though, we literally cannot pull anything off on our own. We are completely unable to accomplish anything apart from God. He is the One who gave us life, and He is the One who puts every single breath in our lungs. He is the One who equips us and sustains us for every good work He has prepared for us to do. He is sovereign over all, including us in our measly humanly strength.
This isn’t just a definition lived out by non-believers, though. It’s a trap many Christians (including myself) often fall into. I can feel the difference when I am relying on myself versus when I’m relying on God. In my own strength, I can accomplish some decent work, but I’m quickly frustrated and exhausted in the process. When I look, to God, though, I am amazed at the work He enables me to accomplish and the peace I maintain in the process.
We like to quote Philippians 4:13, which says, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” But it’s important to note where our emphasis is. Are we emphasizing the “I” in that verse or are we emphasizing “through Christ”? If it’s through Christ, then we have to set the “I” of it aside.
What is the Biblical Definition of Strength?
The Bible’s definition of strength is the antithesis of the world’s. The Bible tells us we find strength in four places:
Trust
Isaiah 30:15 says “…in quietness and trust is your strength…” We can let go of our own self-reliance and trust wholeheartedly in God to carry us through. We trust that He will sustain us. We trust that He will guide us. And we trust that He has ultimate victory. He is working all things together for the good of those who love Him, and we can have faith that His promises are secure (Romans 8:28). When we let go of trying to make things happen on our own, we find strength in trusting God to work it all according to His good, pleasing, and perfect will.
Quietness
As we just saw, Isaiah 30:15 tells us that, in addition to trust, we find strength in quietness. This quietness is not about silencing outward noise but inward noise. Instead of letting our thoughts run rampant with anxious worry, we can quiet our minds and listen to the still small voice within. When we are quiet, we can hear what God is speaking. When we are still, we are reminded that God is in control (Psalm 46:10). It is in quietness that we return to the source of our strength and can listen and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit moment by moment.
Joy
In Nehemiah 8:10, God’s Word tells us, “…the joy of the Lord is your strength.” The joy of the Lord isn’t just any old joy – it’s a joy found not in circumstances but in knowing God is who He says He is. When we know and believe God is good and faithful, we will live from a place of joy. We no longer wait for circumstances to bring us joy; instead, we bring joy into our circumstances. No matter how busy or troubled our circumstances may be, we are strong when we face them with the joy of the Lord, because His is an eternal joy that cannot be taken and will never fade.
Weakness
In 2 Corinthians 12:10, Paul makes a seemingly impossible statement. He says “…for Christ’s sake, I delight in my weaknesses and insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” This verse is often misquoted to say “when I am weak, then HE is strong,” but that’s not what it says. Paul literally is saying that, for those who are in Christ, we are at our strongest when we are at our weakest.
How is that possible? When we are in Christ, it is no longer us who lives, but Christ in us (Galatians 2:20). In our weakest places, we have the most space to be filled up with the power of Christ through the Holy Spirit. For all of us, though, our weakness is every bit of us. Even our strength is weakness compared to God’s might, “for the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength” (1 Corinthians 1:25).
So, then, we are strong when we are weak because of God in us. We rejoice in our weakness and delight in knowing we cannot do it on our own, because we know that God has made a way not just in spite of, but because of our weakness. Our weakness is our strength because it is the space through which God moves and works in and through our lives. Without our weakness, we would have no need for Him. But in our weakness, He not only meets our needs, He fills us with His strength, so that His strength becomes ours as Christ’s life now lives in us. We are strong because He is strong.
Living in Biblical Strength
Living in biblical strength requires a mindset and lifestyle shift, but it is one well worth making. It is a shift I am actively choosing every day, and again and again throughout my days. When I find myself reactionary, frustrated, and burnt out, I am practicing turning back to trust, quietness, joy, and delight in my own weakness. When I put my strength in God alone, I find I am able to accomplish much more than I ever could in my own strength. It’s a different sort of accomplishment, a holy one, that is focused, resolute, and led by the Holy Spirit.
When we walk in biblical strength instead of our own weak, human strength, we will indeed bear good, eternal fruit, and we will find ourselves filled with the goodness of God rather than depleted at the end of it all.
Comments