Artificial Strength

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
Psalm 73:26

“Keep a stiff upper lip.” “Smile though your heart is breaking.” “Never let them see you sweat.” “The show must go on.” Big boys don’t cry.” “Pull yourself together.” “Pull yourself up by your boot straps.” “Get over it.” “Keep your chin up.” “Put on a brave face.” 

How many of these - you have to be strong phrases have you heard? Can you add some to the list? What do you tell yourself, when you feel like you must hold it together and be strong? How is it that stuffing our emotions make us strong? I think when we do that we are creating an illusion of strength - and artificial strength if you will. 

Let me say right up front that there are probably some life circumstances when this sort of artificial strength can serve temporarily as a form of protection so we can deal with whatever we need to deal with. The key here is it should only be used temporarily. The long term effects of stuffing real and raw emotion will lead to more problems in the long run. We need to cry, we need to feel anger, to sit for a time with the pain of betrayal, it’s healthy - it’s truly human and it is a means to healing. 

The Psalmist who wrote this week’s passage had been openly sharing with God the struggles he has been dealing with and comes to the conclusion that real strength comes not from stuffing emotion or giving into temptation but from an authentic relationship with God, where God provided the strength to carry on.

Paul talks about the very real strength that is available from God. After basically telling the Philippians that the secret to being content under even the worst of circumstances is through “Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13) he goes on to say that it is also good to share the good and the bad with those around you. In his second letter to the Corinthians Paul tells them that he pleaded with the Lord to remove something painful from his life only to have the Lord tell him “My grace is sufficient - My power is made perfect in your weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). That’s kind of a hard pill, but Paul had by experience; found it to be true in his life and it will prove to be true in ours as well.

This week we can either stuff our emotions, slap a fake smile on our face and try to get by on artificial strength or like the Psalmist and Paul we can admit that we are being made weak by life on this planet and we need the real strength available from the One who is made even stronger in our weakness. What will it be? 

A Prayer
Father - thank you for being the source of real strength, a strength that brings contentment and healing. Help us not to bottle up the painful emotions we often experience in this world. Thank you also for the people in our lives that allow us to be real with them and are willing to stand by us when life gets messy. In the name of Jesus our strength - Amen.