be strong

Today in the One Year Bible, we read from 2 Timothy 2:1-21. And right off the bat, Paul says something worth pondering. He says, "be strong through the grace that God gives you."

And that teaches us something profound. We often tell other people, and ourselves, "be strong." And that's fine... but it can be very hard sometimes. And other times, we need to be vulnerable and let our guard down.

But Paul's advice is subtly and powerfully different. He says "be strong through the grace God gives you." That, by the way, is why worry is so bad for us. Now don't get me wrong... I understand that sometimes we can't control our worry. Believe me. I spent 99% of 2016 worrying. Not because I chose to, but because my stomach was in a very bad state, and it was causing me to endlessly worry. So I get it: worrying might be outside your control.

But this is why we should never CHOOSE to worry. The Bible specifically says not to. Be anxious for NOTHING, but pray about everything. There's a book called "What SHOULD we Worry About?" and even though the book comes to the wrong conclusion, the actual answer is: nothing.

Why? Because when the trial comes, God gives us strength. Does He make it easy? Well, yes, sometimes. But usually the task itself isn't any less... we just find that He's given us the strength to match it. So be anxious for nothing... but be strong through the grace that God gives you.

God, thanks for giving us grace to be strong.