Sometimes it can feel like we’re having to face things on our own, that nobody is willing to walk alongside us or support us in what God’s calling us to do. People can often assume we’re strong and don’t need anything. It’s easy to become discouraged and give up when we feel we’re not being supported. But God never leaves us to face anything on our own. Zerubbabel was called to rebuild the temple. It was a huge task, so God told him, ‘It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit.’ We can’t do everything on our own, we need to be dependent on God. When we don’t let Him in to what we’re doing, we can end up in a worse situation. Samson discovered this: ‘He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. Then the Philistines seized him’ (Judges 16:20-21 NIV). God stepped back and let Samson see that it was the Lord doing it, and not himself. We need to remember that it’s God’s power, not ours, that makes the difference. God’s ‘power is made perfect in weakness’ (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV). So when we’re feeling weak, we’re in the best position for God to work through us and with us. We’ve got to take that step of courage, trusting that He’ll equip us as we go along. When we’re relying on His strength rather than our own, we can do what He’s calling us to.
