July 5, 2022
You’re Stronger than You Know
Holley Gerth
Today’s Truth
In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Romans 8:37 NIV).
Friend to Friend
I got the text early one morning. “It’s bad,” my dad said, “Your mom has 95 percent blockage in two of her arteries.” Within twenty-four hours we would be on a plane and she would be on an operating table.
This is how life unfolds sometimes. We’re microwaving dinner or strolling into a meeting, picking up the kids from school or turning off the light next to the bed and suddenly our whole world tilts on its axis.
My mom made it through surgery okay but what should have been a week-long stay in the hospital turned into an extended journey full of complications. She, a brave woman, fought fluid around her heart and in her lungs, internal bleeding, reactions to pain medications and the inability to sleep for days at a time.
When she began feeling better weeks later, we watched the movie Wonder Woman in her intensive care room. In one scene Wonder Woman crosses a battlefield under heavy fire. Right in the middle of all the action my Mama hollered, “You go, girl!” I thought all the monitors would go off and the nurses would come running. In that instant my Mama was Wonder Woman to me. She was fighting hard, overcoming obstacles and pushing through what sometimes seemed like the impossible.
But before my Mama could do all that, she had to place herself fully and completely in the hands of someone else—a surgeon who could do what she could not do for herself.
This time of year, we talk a lot about freedom but I think that we can sometimes forget that before freedom often comes surrender. The reality is we all have blockages in our hearts—struggles and sin, regrets and weaknesses, failures and challenges that are simply too much for us. Our natural instinct is to try to free ourselves from all of these, to be the one to cure our own disease. But we can never do so. We need a Savior to intervene on our behalf.
Then, yes, He invites us to be part of the healing process. We fight battles. We push through darkness. We walk one more step or take one more breath. And we don’t have to do any of this alone or in our own power—God is with us and for us in every moment.
Maybe you or someone you love is in a difficult place today. If so, my Mama and I are cheering for you too. We’re both home now and grateful for little and big miracles (including food that doesn’t come from a hospital cafeteria). We’re on the other side of the battlefield.
Can I whisper to your heart that I believe you’ll get there too? It’s okay if you can’t see, feel or even believe that for yourself right now. We all have those moments and God will do His mighty, loving, tender work on our behalf anyway. We are braver than we know, stronger than we feel and loved more than we can even imagine. Yes, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).
Let’s Pray
Dear God, thank You for never leaving me on my own. When I’m fighting a battle and can’t see the other side, remind me that You are both mighty and loving. You are with me and You will see me through. Thank You, Lord! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
Which one do you need to remember today? You’re braver than you know, you’re stronger than you feel, or you’re loved more than you can even imagine? They’re all true, but choose one to dwell on today.
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© 2022 by Holley Gerth. All rights reserved.
Originally published Tuesday, 05 July 2022.
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