When God is our strength, it is strength indeed; when our strength is our own, it is only weakness.” — St. Augustine.
Self-reliance, relying on our own strength, will never give us the outcome or the grace we need along the way—generally speaking, in life or in anything we do. It’s interesting how anything we are working hard on—while relying on our own strength—can feel so impossible, yet we do it anyways because it’s easier (or comfortable for us) to rely on ourselves versus surrendering to God and relying on his strength—His grace—which is sufficient: “‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ [Paul then said] I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor. 12:9).
Moving away from comfort to greatness, which Christ calls us to as Pope Benedict XIV stated, ultimately takes humility, love, and faith. Wheather some kind of fear or pride keeps us clinging to comfort through subconsciously, or consciously, thinking we can do it all ourselves “it’s fine, it’s better this way” etc., or fearfully thinking it’s easier (which, frankly, sometimes it may be) the antidote is faith—we just have to be humble enough to ask for it, to ask for the graces we need.
It’s clear by the outcomes of relying on our own strength and by Scripture where Jesus tells us, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” – (Jn. 15:5) that our own strength will never be enough. Yet, our good Father never ceases to care for us: not only does he give something (or more so Someone/God) to be our strength, He is so much better than our own strength. It’s what’s best for us—it’s love! Jesus goes on to say, “As the Father loves me, so I have loved you, abide in my love.” (Jn. 15:9).
We can see from both verses in John that we need love: we need to abide in Him/we need to love Him and allow Him to love us, and we need to hold onto God who is Love Itself! Love, which to be genuine takes faith and humility, is our strength. Humility to be vulnerable enough to acknowledge our weaknesses and even accept the fact that we are weak; yet, also, faith enough to trust in God and rely on His graces—His love—that is our strength and bears much fruit. Saint Faustina wrote in her diary that “Love endures everything, love is stronger than death, love fears nothing” (Diary, 46). In our weakness, Love Himself is present, waiting for us to take one humble step of faith (big or small) to accept His grace, freely given without hesitation. One step into His grace, wherever or however we are weak, to give us His power, which is enough for us at all times and in all things.
Strength in My Weakness
Whether it’s weakness as sinfulness or as other difficulties or sufferings we face in life—God is enough to overcome: “‘I have said this to you that you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world’” (Jn. 16:33). We know that with God anything is possible (Mt. 19:26), but have we humbled ourselves enough to surrender to God and experience this truth and the truth of his great power in our weakness?
I struggle with anger; I remember and am grateful for the times when I was tempted, usually through things people have said to me, but I stayed silent because I chose to simply focus my thoughts on Jesus (not the words being said or what I wanted to state loudly). In my abiding in Him in this way of focusing my thoughts on Him, I was letting go, in a certain sense, of what I wanted—I was surrendering just by a shift of my thoughts; in that, He gave me the grace to see the bigger picture, which St. Francis de Sales states wonderfulluy: “It is better to remain silent than to speak the truth ill-humordly, and spoil and excellent dish by covering it with bad sauce.”
There are two short, simple prayers I recommend to help you surrender to God and experience His power in your weaknesses. One is the Litany of Trust, and the other is from the Surrender Novena: say “O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!” I recommend doing these prayers often, even if at first or for a while you don’t mean or believe the words you’re saying, just stating them will help you get to that point of surrender and belief.
Reflect on what Jesus told St. Faustina: “If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity.” — (Diary, 1602).
“We trust ourselves to a doctor because we suppose he knows his business. He orders an operation which involves cutting away part of our body, and we accept it. We are grateful to him and pay him a large fee because we judge he would not act as he does unless the remedy were necessary, and we must rely on his skill. Yet we are unwilling to treat God in the same way! It looks as if we do not trust His wisdom and are afraid He cannot do His job properly. We allow ourselves to be operated on by a man who may easily make a mistake—a mistake which may cost us our life—and protest when God sets to work on us. If we could see all He sees, we would unhesitatingly wish all He wishes.” — Fr. Jean Baptiste Saint-Jure, pg. 90 of Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence.
“The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.” — Psalms 28:7
“Dare to declare who you are. The path is not long, but the way is deep. You must not only walk there, but you must also be prepared to leap.” — St. Hildegard of Bingen
Photo by Stijn Swinnen on Unsplash
Learn To Rely On God’s Grace Over Your Own Strength
Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence
Jesus I Trust in You: A 30-Day Personal Retreat with the Litany of Trust
Offer It Up: Discovering the Power and Purpose of Redemptive Suffering
