GOD'S STRENGTH IS MADE PERFECT IN OUR WEAKNESS

No matter who you are, at some point, if you live long enough, life will bring you to your knees. Doubt will flood through your mind, tears will flood from your eyes, and you may even feel disconnected from God and struggle with holding on to your faith. THAT'S OK! We are all in the same boat. To live in this world is to experience tribulation, and during those times when our spiritual heads feel like they are on the verge of dropping beneath the water's surface, a powerful helping hand is always there, waiting to pull us from the water.

Persistence and mental toughness are wonderful traits, and certainly necessary for surviving this world. That said, with the right variables, even the mentally toughest among us can be brough to their knees in the blink of an eye. It may be a crippling or terminal illness; the death of a loved one; addiction, or just an inexplicable feeling of melancholy that won't seem to go away. 

It's so easy to feel smug in our own self-sufficiency when we are within our tribulation boundaries. The second we go beyond those boundaries, however, we experience feelings of hopelessness and dread. The second we enter those waters, we subconsciously know that we are in for a major struggle, but there's good news: God's strength is made perfect in our weakness, as Paul explains in the following verses:

2Co 12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 

2Co 12:10  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. 

One example of this is simply the aging process. When we are young, we often feel invincible and bulletproof, being far more likely to throw caution to the wind. As we age, the aches and pains add up. The wrinkles in the mirror remind us of our mortality and physical deterioration on a daily basis. Though not in a traditional sense, this too is a form of tribulation. We have two choices:

1. We can deny reality and artificially attempt to hold back the hands of time. That may come in the form of: refusing to be seen without massive amounts of makeup; always keeping up with all the latest fashions; getting plastic surgery, or a wealthy person 'dating' someone half his age, who looks like she just walked off the set of a modelling shoot. These things are typically done  to synthetically prove to ourselves and the world that 'we still got it'.
2. We can embrace aging and acknowledge our ever-increasing vulnerability, leaving behind the foolish belief that a life without youthfulness isn't one worth living. When we come in to the world, we are helpless, and if we live long enough, we will most surely leave it the same way.

Whether it's the aging process or any other kind of tribulation we experience, there's always a silver lining: any time we feel vulnerable and weak, we are far more likely to drop our pride and faith in self-sufficiency, and humbly ask our Creator to sustain us while we do our best to overcome the obstacles before us. The bible tells us that God can use tribulation as a tool to rebuke and humble us, keeping our pride in check:  

Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 

So, if you are currently at the end of your rope, and feel like you don't have the strength to endure the challenges before you, remember that God may be using tribulation as a tool to draw you away from pride and delusions of self-sufficiency, and towards the humble admission that we would all drown in the spiritual sea, if not for the powerful arm of Jesus Christ sustaining us.