But he said to me,
"My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in
weakness." Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my
weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's
sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in
difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. - 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Grief is something that we feel is more commonly limited to
death or loss. Grief goes infinitely deeper than we understand. Life is hard,
there’s no kidding around about that. Everyone knows it and everyone is, daily,
fighting to swim through the waves of emotion, stress, desire, etc. Life hurts
and you’re not alone feeling that way.
We all know that we can’t let life get us down. However, there
are some days where the “umph” is nowhere to be found. The people you rely on
for strength are unavailable, your usual “pick me ups” are failing miserably,
and you don’t have one ounce of energy left to be brave. When you’re in these
types of moments, it’s a lot easier said than done to not let the hopelessness
creep in and take over. You just want the pain to disappear, to relent; you
just want to stop feeling for a moment to have relief.
No one wants to feel weak and these moments parade
themselves as the epitome of weakness. If you are used to the position as warrior,
fighter, defender, these moments can feel even more overwhelming because the
feeling of failure sneaks in and taunts you into feeling worthless.
If this is you or you’ve been in a moment just like this, read
closely. Stop being a trash compactor. You can’t live life constantly packing
and smashing stuff down and pretend like it’s all well and good. Trash can be
condensed but it still has to go somewhere. Eventually, you will have to come
to terms with everything you’ve set aside. You are still a strong person, you
are not weak for needing a moment of release and refueling. Life is a constant
barrage that requires you to constantly be on your toes. Don’t be caught in the
crossfire because you were too afraid to have a moment where you couldn’t
handle it all. Don’t be afraid to be weak for when we are weak, HE is strong. Allow those moments where you’re all
alone and feeling hopeless—don’t fight them. Use them to be an overcomer. Let those tears flow, let your weary
soul cry out to God, let all the emotions flow over and through you. Feeling
something other than strength, happiness, and success isn’t the end of the
world and it’s not a bad thing.
This is where grief comes in. Grieve the fight you handle on
a daily basis, because it’s much more than just handling rude people. As a
warrior, you are fighting constant spiritual battles which can be more
exhausting than a few crabby people in a day. The definition of grief is, “Deep
sorrow.” The synonyms of grief are pain, distress, anguish, sadness, misery,
heartache, torment, etc. Life is a beast. When you’re in the line of fire every
day, you can’t escape the overwhelming moments of distress and anguish.
However, it’s how you use these emotions and moments that determines the
outcome. Are you just going to let them defeat you and that’s that? No, if you’re
a true warrior, you use those moments to grieve and rid yourself of the
compacted trash you’ve pushed aside for later. You can then be free of the
baggage and extra weight dragging you down, so you can move on and keep
fighting. If you truly want to be strong, you have to stay refreshed, revitalized, and redeemed. Don’t let pride
be your downfall—if you need release, don’t wait until it turns into something
grotesque. Give your soul the cleansing it needs so you can rise, every day, a
conqueror and warrior of Christ.
"Put on the full
armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For
our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against
the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full
armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your
ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth
buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and
with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can
extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." – Eph. 6:11-17
