Stand in His Strength

When I am afraid, I will trust in You.  Psalm 56:3

    

The night before my grandfather’s funeral, my grandmother told me about his final moments.  Pa-Pa had been very sick for several days in a nursing home.  Months of dialysis took its toll on his eighty-two year old body.  A doctor came to my grandmother and said, “Mrs. Hendrix, his vital signs are rapidly dropping.  You need to come right away.”

Her legs feeling like lead weights, she thought, “I cannot go in there and watch him die.”  She asked God to help her.  My grandfather could not talk and looked weak. The nurse told my grandmother, “Start talking to him and help him go, Mrs. Hendrix.” 

My grandmother said, “Marion, I have loved you for fifty-eight years.  Now you are about to go to heaven.  You are going to see Jesus.  You have talked about heaven many times.  Now you are going, and then I’m coming.  So you go on.”  Pa-Pa moved his throat as if to say something.  He closed his eyes and was in heaven. 

My grandmother told me the story without shedding a tear, proud of herself for having the strength to stand upright and speak clearly to her husband.  She knew that God was her helper.

King David writes of trusting God during fearful moments.  When we face such challenges, God is present with us.  Our hurdle may be enduring a difficult exam at school, a boss that we dislike, or a financial obstacle.  The Bible promises God’s presence in every situation.  Let’s ask Him daily for the strength to face them.  Then we can move forward, standing in His strength one moment at a time.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance, and our strength has failed ere the day is half done, when we reach the end of our hoarded resources, the Father’s full giving is only begun.  – Annie Johnson Flint

Pictures used by permission from Pixabay.