A Prayer for Strength to Face Challenges in the Coming Year
By Keri Eichberger
Bible Reading:
“In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul.” - Psalm 138:3 NKJV
Listen or Read Below:
I’ve had seasons of long-seeming weakness. Relentless overcast, dim days that rolled in like continual salty waves on a cold misty seashore. Little light or warmth in sight. But by the grace of God, eventually, rays of brightness always peeked through. And the Lord would again gift me bits of passion and energy streaked with hope and specks of joy. Yet one cloud continued to remain: knowing hard days would soon return.
As it stands today, I just wrapped up a year that felt like one of the hardest I’ve had. In reflection, I’m staring back at a rollercoaster of highs and lows, where the valleys felt a lot like bottomless pits at their worst, and the peaks definitely didn’t pass as mountaintop moments. In fact, it sort of seems the lows outweighed the highs. And what I’m struggling with right now is a little dread to take on a whole new year if it’s going to look like the last.
Do you have some concerns about potential challenges ahead? Sure. We all do sometimes. The past tells us life has had its really hard moments. Watching the lives of others, we notice there are harder moments that could be had. And of course, the bible reassures us there absolutely will be trouble and suffering in this life. Which can be kind of scary at times. And why? Because we flat out don’t feel like we have what it takes to handle the struggles and difficulties we’re dealt. Maybe you feel like you already haven’t handled some of the tough stuff you’ve walked through well.
We need to know God will help us. If only we knew without a doubt that he would strengthen us in our time of weakness, need, and desperation, maybe we wouldn’t worry so much. Maybe we’d walk a little lighter, with a little more joy, and a little less weight of what if.
Well, here’s what I want to encourage us both with today. Just as the Lord gave us each sufficient strength to come out of all our past pits, he will do it again. Listen, I know what it feels like to wonder if I’ll ever see a genuine smile reflected on my face again. I know what it feels like to want so badly for God to shine in and through me with just one small burst of light. I know what it feels like to cry out and wait and wait and wait. But the best news I can testify to is that I know what it feels like when God shows up.
God always shows up. God supplies sufficient strength when we call on and stay close to him.
As you glance at the path before you—stepping out onto a road that may look scary, steep, filled with shadows, or clouded by uncertainty—remember God is headed there with you. Remember that every single time you call on him, he hears you and will give you just the strength to handle each hard situation, struggle, and season. Be encouraged as you look ahead. Let your heart and soul sing and smile with the hope of your good God leading and never leaving you.
Let’s Pray:
Father God, You are so good. You hear me cry when I’m in need, you give me strength when I am weak, and you offer light when I feel lost in the dark. I know some seasons seem to drag me down more than others, and I admit I can fear the return of such struggles. But give me confidence in your unfailing faithfulness. The truth that you’ve lifted me out of the shadows before, and you will pick me up again and again. And because of these unchanging outpours of compassion, I can walk in freedom and peace. I can live encouraged that with you, as I call on and lean on you, I will make it through. And so I can have joy now. And plenty more then, with you as my steady and solid strength. Forevermore. In your Son’s glorious name, amen.
Photo Credit: ©Anastasia Dobrusina
Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.
Related Resource: Jesus Calling - Stories of Faith
Kerry Washington. Andrea Bocelli. Reba McEntire. Mark Wahlberg. Tony Dungy. Matthew McConaughey, What do all of these people have in common? They are all people of faith who have leaned on God in both the good and challenging times—and they’ve shown up to tell their story of faith on The Jesus Calling Podcast. The Jesus Calling Podcast provides a place for people from all walks of life to share the heartaches, joys, and divine moments that keep them going.
Inspired by Sarah Young's classic devotional book, the Jesus Calling podcast has brought encouragement and peace to millions. New episodes drop every Thursday! Listen today on LifeAudio.com or wherever you find your podcasts.
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Originally published Friday, 27 December 2024.
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