The Source of Inner Strength

 

The Source of Inner Strength

 

“Brenda had spent the last twenty years nursing her abusive husband after he was paralyzed in an accident while driving under the influence of alcohol. Yet she never complained, she never was bitter. She had so much inner strength.”

“Karl faithfully continued as a country doctor for years and years. Getting up at all hours delivering babies or attending accident victims. He could have moved to the city and be much better off financially, and with less working hours. Why didn’t he? He had so much inner strength.“

Such statements, we hear frequently, we admire the people who find the inner strength to swim against the stream of the popular ‘me first’ opinion. Not for them throwing in the towel, not for them giving up or going away; not for them self-pity or self-imposed martyrdom. Not for them ugly lines of bitterness in their faces. Lines there are, for sure, they are lines of caring, of concern and even sadness but never lines of being a doormat.

When we speak of inner strength we express recognition of something positive, even something rare. What is it? This inner strength? Where does it come from? How can we obtain it, that is, if we even want it, for it comes at a price.

In today’s predominately New Age worldview we hear much about positive thinking, about finding oneself, or the phrase ‘I can do anything if I truly want it.’ In other words, if you haven’t got it, don’t complain.

It is human nature to be self-centered and striving for more or better things or situations. Self-help books and expensive seminars want to teach us how to ‘improve ourselves’. Eastern and other religions tell us to ‘still your mind’ and all will fall into place but in the final account it is up to each one of us to cope as best we can.

Where do we get inner strength? Yoga meditation may make you calmer but taken to its logical conclusions there is hopelessness and only reincarnation to another life cycle over and over again until final Nirvana (nothingness). So why bother in the first place?

Or gaining strength from the New Age spirit world? A dangerous undertaking because evil spirits do exist and mean to harm us. Without the protection of God we have no resistance and we are at their mercy. They have no intention to give us true inner strength, rather they generate selfishness and hatred.

True inner strength has a beauty we never find in a person dabbling in the occult because such strength is free from fear. It doesn’t need to know the future. The man or woman with true inner strength is not passively resigned to a situation but embraces it purposefully. They look to Jesus Christ as their greatest source of strength because he has gone that path before. Since he is eternal God his river of living water gives unlimited inner strength. There is no fear of exhaustion, of running dry.

The reason why we see goodness and deep peace in people like Brenda and Karl is that they receive their inner strength directly from their daily communication with God. Moreover, they do not stem the flow for selfish reason but are content to let it run through them to those in their environment. They need not fear it ever ceasing.

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