Strength to Strength

One spring afternoon I sat on the edge of my grandmother’s bed as she shared a box of photos and the memories so vividly attached to them. For the first time, I heard Evelyn Wheeler’s life story. She shared moments of true joy and humor, mixed in with extensive periods of overwhelming obstacles and trials – even doubts. 

Finally, I simply asked, “Grandma, what made you stay and hold on?” 

She began to sing an old chorus, 
“All I need, I’ve found in Jesus,
He has been a friend to me,
He has changed my life completely,
And His blood has washed away each stain.”

As a young adult, I recognized a spiritual resilience in the face of life’s challenges and understood the source of her strength to be the Lord Jesus Christ. Her testimony has guided my life through its own inevitable challenges – and I determined to hold to the same Savior.

Resilience describes an individual’s capacity to withstand and recover from adversity and life’s stressful, even traumatic, events. According to Robert J. Wicks, author of Spiritual Resilience, “spiritual resilience is not simply about recovering from adversity. It is about bouncing back in a way that a deeper knowledge of both God and self may result.”

This powerful truth is described in Psalm 84:5-7 KJV:

5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.
6 Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
7 They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.

You are abundantly blessed when you go to the LORD for strength. This walk with God is always a forward journey. In verse 6, the psalmist wrote “who passing through the valley of Baca.” This is key! The Valley of Baca is a place of weeping. When you face a trial, you must determine to keep moving forward, or “pass through,” and walk more closely with Jesus Christ. Do not become emotionally and mentally mired in the challenges you face.

The second portion of verse 6 states to “make it a well.” Imagine exerting the energy to dig a well in your personal valley of trials. Why? Because God will cause His refreshing rain to fill the well!  You make room for the LORD to pour out His blessings in you and over you through prayer and fasting, worship and reading His Word. Finally, in verse 7, the psalmist shares an amazing promise of hope – YOU will “go from strength to strength.”

Whenever you draw closer to God, He will draw closer to you (James 4:8). 

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