When the Going Gets Tough

Psalm 28:7

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.”

It might be just you, the car, and the competition on the track.

Helmet on. Visor down. Engine fired. Green flag flying.

And for those few laps, it can feel like it really is just you against the world.

You’re responsible for the car. You’re responsible for making the right decisions. You’re responsible for finding the line, hitting your marks, and keeping the thing between the walls. When things start to go sideways, nobody else can climb in and take over.

At least that’s how it feels.

Life can feel the same way.

There are seasons when it feels like everything is on your shoulders. Work. Family. Finances. Relationships. The stuff you didn't see coming. The stuff you probably should have seen coming but didn't.

And then there are the moments when you realize you don't have enough.

Not enough strength.

Not enough patience.

Not enough wisdom.

Not enough perseverance to keep pushing through whatever is sitting in front of you.

That's usually about the time we start digging deeper.

We tell ourselves to toughen up. Work harder. Push through. Find another gear.

And there is certainly something to be said for perseverance. God didn't call us to quit every time life gets difficult.

But there's a problem when we assume the strength has to come from us.

It doesn't.

David says, “The Lord is my strength and my shield.”

Not I am my strength.

Not my abilities are enough.

Not if I can just try a little harder, I'll figure this out.

The Lord is my strength.

That's an important distinction.

When the going gets tough, the tough don't just dig deeper into themselves.

They dig deeper into God.

That doesn't mean we stop working. It doesn't mean we stop trying. It doesn't mean we sit back and wait for God to magically fix everything.

It means we recognize where our strength actually comes from.

There will be days when you feel like you have nothing left in the tank. Days when the competition is better than you. Days when the car isn't doing what you want it to do. Days when life isn't doing what you want it to do.

Dig deep.

But when you do, don't just look inside yourself for more strength.

Look to God.

He is your strength when yours runs out.

He is your shield when you feel exposed.

He is your help when you don't know what to do next.

You don't have to carry the weight alone.

So keep pushing. Keep fighting. Keep showing up.

Just remember who is giving you the strength to do it.

The goal isn't to discover how strong you are. It's to discover how strong God is when you finally realize you can't do it on your own.

Think About It

Where are you trying to rely on your own strength right now?

What would it look like to stop simply digging deeper into yourself and start digging deeper into God?