God alone is our strength.

"We've been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we're not demoralized; we're not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we've been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn't left our side; we've been thrown down, but we haven't broken." 2 Corinthians 4:8-9

Whether it's a spiritual hardship you're facing, or just a really hard test, I was reminded today that God is our strength. At the beginning of my senior year, I started writing Bible verses, quotes and small thoughts in a notebook. I did this for a while, but stopped as the summer got crazy. I recently found this notebook, however, and I was so encouraged by what I had scribbled down a year earlier. One of the main themes that I seemed to be writing about at the time was the strength God can give us. I was reminded this afternoon that God is the source for my spiritual, physical, emotional and mental strength.

At the beginning of Joshua, the Lord encouraged Joshua with some powerful yet comforting words: "Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

I love the book of Joshua. It may be because it was my first Bible Bowl text, or maybe I would like it anyway, but I love it, especially this verse. God tells Joshua not to be afraid, because He will always be with him. Always. And when an all-powerful God is with us at all times, why would we be afraid? A similar promise was a part of my last Bible Bowl text: "They will fight against you, but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you, declares the Lord." God is with us, and he promises to rescue us from all harm. Over and over, God assures us that He is perfectly capable of taking care of His children. Psalm 27:1 says, "So with God on my side I'm fearless, afraid of no one and nothing."

So we know God is always with us, but the amazing part of that truth is what that means for us. When God is always with us, He is our strength. God empowers us to do our best and beyond. Psalm 121 is one of my favorite psalms because it reminds me of God's amazingness lol. "My strength comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth." God, who made everything in the whole wide world, is the one who takes care of us and helps us to do His will.

With God at our side we shouldn't be afraid, and we can be empowered to do amazing things in the name of Christ. Now of course, neither of these things are natural for us or easy for us to do. Fear is such a natural response, but with God, there's no need to fear anything, whether its a thing or just the future. Isaiah 12:22 says, "God is my salvation. I trust, I won't be afraid." We really can trust in our Almighty God to protect us from everything, to keep us safe and to carry out His plan in our lives. In one of my favorite books, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus tells his children, "Courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what." The only thing Atticus is missing in this encouraging phrase is the God factor. When you know you're licked, God is the one who helps you see it through no matter what. It's a lot easier to be strong and courageous when God is the one backing you up, rather than just yourself.

Once we trust God and get rid of our fear, God can empower us to do incredible things for Him! We can trust Him to take care of everything in our lives. Philippians 4:6 says, "Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, PRAY!" We know that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength, but do we really really really believe it? God cares about the sparrows and the lilies, why wouldn't he care about our everyday problems? Why would we think "that problem is too small for God to care about"? God desperately wants us to trust him in the big things, but also in the little things. Jeremiah 32:27 says, "I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?" Of course nothing is too hard for God. It is so vital that we remember that.

One time Al, my youth pastor, said to me, "Sometimes I think you're the only one who doesn't believe you can." How often I fall into this harmful thinking. In order to trust God to do something, you must believe that God can do it through you. Without Him you can't, but with Him, you absolutely can. God is a fighter, and with Him behind us, we too can leave fear behind, be a fighter, and do His will.

The message translation of Psalm 119:32 says, "God, don't let me down! I'll run the course you lay out for me if you just show me how." God wants to show us how. He wants us to ask Him anything and everything. Over and over in the Bible we see how, when someone lets God work through them, incredible things take place. But this pattern is not only limited to famous Bible characters. God can and will do incredible things through you. Don't you dare think you're insignificant to God's plan. Before we were formed in the womb, God knew us, and he set each of us apart for a special purpose in his plan. He knows the plans that He has for us, and He promises that they are plans to prosper us and to give us a future! (Jeremiah 1:5, 29:11)

God doesn't always make things clear for us, and often, that's where fear comes from. Other times, fear can come in when we do know what God wants us to do. That can be scary sometimes, a lot of the time, actually I think. But like he promised Joshua, God promises to be with us wherever we go. God guards us now, he guards us always (Psalm 121). Most important to remember, He isn't going anywhere. Through thick and thin, God is with us and wants to help us through. And when we choose to trust God and draw our strength from Him, He will be there for us always, no matter who you are, or what it is that God has called you to do. Isaiah 37:26 says, "Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it! In days of old I planned it!" God knows what He's doing, never doubt that.

As Romans 8:17 says, "If we go through the hard times with Him, we're certainly going to go through the good times with Him!" Praise Jesus for that. We can study all we want or be determined to do well, but frankly, we are nothing without God. While it's good to be prepared and determination is helpful, God alone is the source of our true strength. And if we trust Him to be our power and strength, to give us wisdom and intelligence, or to protect us, He will most certainly take care of His children. "Do not be anxious about anything.." Instead, pray; ask God to help you out. God is the only one who will never fall short, and He will never let you down.

"Be strong and courageous. Don't be terrified, don't be discouraged. For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

God alone is our strength.