I was reading an article by Joel Osteen today and one part of it jumped out at me. I loved it and I had to share it with you….read this excerpt from his article and then I will share my thoughts with you.
Strength You Didn’t Know You Had
Post by Joel Osteen on February 20, 2015
One time, I was at home lifting weights by myself. I was lying on a bench doing the bench press using a barbell. I was on my last set of five, using a very heavy weight. I did number one, two and three. Everything was fine. But on rep number four, it got very hard. I could barely lift the barbell. I thought to myself, “Okay, I’m going to go ahead and try number five, but I don’t know if I can do it.” I started rep number five and got about halfway up and got stuck. I pushed and pushed and pushed. I gave it everything I had, but that weight wouldn’t budge. I couldn’t do it. I was about to set the weight down on the safety rails so I could get out from under it when I realized that Jonathan was home from college and had moved the safety rails lower to suit him. I forgot to check them before I started. Now I’ve got all this weight on my chest, and I’m totally out of energy. I couldn’t shake it off to one side or the other. There were clamps on the end of the barbells. At times before, I’ve rolled it down my chest to my stomach, but I couldn’t do it with this heavy weight. My first thought was, “How long can I keep this weight off of me before it crushes me?” I thought, “Probably about a minute or two.” My next thought was, “I’ve already wasted 30 seconds!”
As I sat there contemplating what I should do, something rose up in me and said, “Joel, you are not going to let this weight crush you. You are not going to let your family come in here and find you squashed. This is not the end of your story.” I pushed on the right side with all of my might. The left side caught the lower safety rail, and I scooted about an inch. I rested a few seconds and pushed again on that right side, scooted another inch. And another. And another. Eventually, I was able to get my shoulder out from the bench, then my chest, and finally, I fell to the ground and that barbell was caught by the lower rail. When I got up, my chest was a little scraped and my back was a little bruised, but at least I was still alive. I looked at that weight and said, “You didn’t defeat me. I’m still standing!”
Two sentences jumped out at me. First; You are not going to let this weight crush you. And second; This is not the end of your story.
Oh, I loved this today. Friend, you are not going to let this weight crush you. Whether it is a weight of debt, lack, sickness, disease, betrayal or disappointment, you are NOT going to let this weight crush you.
Micah 7:8 says; Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, Jehovah will be a light unto me.
I don’t care what weight the enemy thinks he is putting on you – with Jehovah, your light, you shall arise. You will get up. You will get out from under that weight, if you don’t give up. It may feel like the weight of the world is on you, but God promises us that he ALWAYS makes a way of escape, look for the way of escape.
And finally; this is not the way your story ends. Those who trust in God – steadfast to the VERY END – will triumph. I believe that with every fiber of my being. Now, I know we go through times in the midst of it where it feels like we will never make it through, or that we are going under or even that we have gone under. I have been there, where I thought I had gone under, it looked like I had gone under, it certainly felt like I had gone under, however, my God, Jehovah had a different plan. He walked with me through that horrible season and led me out of the dark places. Praise be to God! And he will do the same to you.
Today remember, this weight cannot crush you unless you allow it to and this is not the end of your story….God declares the end of your story. Praise the Lord!
