Courage for Life
Where do you go when you find yourself frustrated, stressed, or overwhelmed? I don’t know about you, but there have been many times in my life I’ve felt overwhelmed, under pressure, and incapable of handling my circumstances.
Through the years, I’ve learned, that the first and best place to turn is to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, on my knees in a position of complete surrender.
“Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 (NASB)
A few years back, my husband and I were going through a really tough season in our marriage. I was finding it especially difficult to teach Bible Study on Sunday mornings. One Sunday in particular, I was unable to properly prepare for my lesson on Chapter 10 of Daniel. So, I surrendered my lesson to God and allowed Him to prepare me to lead the class. I went to bed Saturday night and fully trusted Him to give me the strength, wisdom, and content to teach the next day.
Little did I know, God had chosen that specific lesson for that specific time in my life. He had prepared it in such a way that it gave me the strength to stand and encouragement in my circumstances as I focused on teaching it to others.
In Daniel Chapter 10, Daniel is in mourning, exhausted, and unable to stand:
10:2: “In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks.”
10:8: “So I was left alone and saw this great vision; yet no strength was left in me, for my natural color turned to a deathly pallor, and I retained no strength.”
Further, in this chapter, Daniel expressed the depth of his weakness to a point that there is no breath left in him:
10:17: “For how can such a servant of my lord talk with such as my lord? As for me, there remains just now no strength in me, nor has any breath been left in me.”
Have you ever felt like Daniel? I sure have! And as God would have it, I felt that way — that very day, lacking the strength to stand, much less the strength to teach.
On days like these, we must trust God to strengthen us. By doing so, we experience first-hand the overwhelming presence of God in the midst of our circumstances. It’s essential to remember- once we have done our best to prepare to handle our circumstances in a God-honoring way, it is then our job to “let go” and “let God” take charge of our outcome. In the remaining verses of Daniel chapter 10, God gave Daniel the strength he needed to fulfill God’s plan.
10:18: “Then this one with human appearance touched me again and strengthened me”
10:19: “He said, “O man of high esteem, do not be afraid. Peace be with you; take courage and be courageous!” Now as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, “May my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”
Just as I’ve experienced God’s overwhelming presence during my weakest times, you too can draw strength from God when you are frustrated, stressed, and overwhelmed.
From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwhelmed;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
(Psalm 61:2)
Do you need to cry out to God today and rely on Him for your strength?
Turn your cares over to God and share your prayer requests with us at contact@courageforlife.org— we want to pray for you!
Ann White is the Founder and Executive Director of Courage For Life in Marietta, GA. She is an internationally known speaker, author and passionate Bible teacher.
Ann recently authored Courage For Life, where she shares with authenticity and raw emotion the story of how she walked away from a life steeped in dysfunction to a life restored in God’s grace. Get the first two chapters for FREE here: CourageForLife.org
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