Two years ago I had T-shirts made that I love.  “Strong Girl” and “Strong Woman.”  Maybe you got one.  I got four.  Passionate about us becoming strong in the Lord, I wrote this in September of ‘15:

“We need to know that it’s being strong in Christ that is BEAUTIFUL. It’s from Jesus, that we can receive a deep sense of value, worth, and dignity. We can be strong in spirit and in integrity. We can be “Every Day Strong” because we are leaning into Jesus. He is our life and breath and being. We need  to increasingly learn that our lives are no longer our own – that we have died with Christ and it is now His Spirit that lives in and through us – partnering with us, strengthening us, guiding us, comforting us, cheering us on – loving us as we have longed to be loved and need to be loved and ARE LOVED by the King of Love.

Knowing that and growing in that makes for one Strong Girl. One mightily Strong Woman. And I want to be one. I want Jesus to be my strong even in my most weak, broken and doubt filled seasons.  He is my life.”  

It still encourages me today.

I still believe it.

But. You knew there was a “but” coming, didn’t you?  But, these days the blog I would write is the one titled above.  Weak Girl. I’ve been in a long season of weakness.

The injury, degenerative disease, and subsequent surgery on my hip was a year ago and I have about six more months to go for a full recovery. I thought I would bounce right back. Nope. It feels like a failure on my part. Like I didn’t do something right. And the truth is, of course there are some things I didn’t do right. Many things, actually.

How do you spell discouragement? Hope deferred. Loss. Things stolen. Self-blame. Failure.

Yup.

Physically is just one of the ways I’ve felt weak. Discouragement multiplies. It grows like yeast. It bleeds over.  Unchecked, it can affect every area of our lives.

Feeling discouraged can take a person to the mat with God. Questions rise: “Why didn’t you….?” 

I am reminded yet again that God is the God of all HOPE. He is not discouraged, and he doesn’t want us to be either.

There is mercy for all of us in our weakness. There are times when we can’t pull ourselves up from a chair or pull ourselves up from doubt or hopelessness. But God can.

The other day I was feeling VERY discouraged and crying out to the God I love whom I was currently mad at. I was driving in my car and it had just begun to gently rain. Suddenly a song came on via my phone. It wasn’t on the playlist I was listening to.  It was, in fact, one I didn’t know I had.  "Mercy is Falling" by David Ruis.

“Mercy is falling, is falling, is falling. Mercy is falling like a sweet spring rain.”

Say what? WHAT? God cued up a song for me. It was a direct intervention, and He spoke to my heart that even in my lowest place – crying out to Him – asking for understanding – begging for His help which seems so slow to come sometimes – not feeling very strong in my faith in the moment – my Father sang that there is mercy for me.

There is mercy for all of us. We can be weak. He alone is strong all the time. And there is mercy.

Lead us, Lord, to the rock that is higher than we are. Be our strength in our weakness. Speak Your life into our weary places. We break agreement with discouragement and agree with the truth that You are the God of all HOPE. We too have hope; I too have hope, because of You.