I’m Not a Strong Woman, and That is Okay

We live in a world where we (including Christians) all boast about how strong we are, but we don’t realize that we truly have nothing to boast about. True strength is not something that can be taught, it cannot be modeled, it cannot be acquired on our own abilities; strength comes from nowhere else but the grace of God and our relationship with Christ Jesus.

Growing up, I was always taught to “pull myself up from my own bootstraps.” I was taught that I had to fight my weaknesses with every ounce of my own inner strength in order to conquer them. But since I’ve known Jesus, I had to learned that “pulling myself up from my own bootstraps” is actually not practical, nor is it possible. I had no choice but to depart from that mindset and yield to the Holy Spirit. Now that I am in Christ, I no longer have to pull myself up by my own bootstraps, I draw my strength from God to pull me up. I no longer have to depend on my flesh, that fails me and hinders me every day, to conquer my weaknesses; I can surrender them all to Christ.

My whole life, even after I got saved, I have depended upon my own abilities to be strong. And I’ve gotten frustrated with myself. I got weary, discouraged, and worn out trying to be strong on my own. I couldn’t understand what I was doing wrong. It was because my abilities are finite. I didn’t realize at that time that I was not created to depend on my own abilities, God created me and wired me to depend solely on Him.

Don’t you see? God created us to depend on Him as our source of strength, because it is far more powerful and far more sufficient than our own. Our own strength runs out because we can only go so far on our own. But God provides us with an infinite supply of strength. Stop being so hard on yourself. Stop trying so hard to be strong on your own. Stop beating yourself up. Part of being human is having weaknesses and burdens within ourselves that wear us down, but it is not too heavy or too great for our Heavenly Father to carry. So let Him lift all of that weight off your shoulders so He can carry it for you.

People around me tell me what a strong woman I am, how resilient I am, and how much I have overcome. But what you see is not a product of my own abilities or my own strength. It is a product of the work that God has done in me and the grace that He is given me. I don’t have any right to boast about my strength, but I can surely boast in my weakness. Everything I am and everything I have conquered does not depend on me; it depends on Him. So, no- I am not a strong woman. But that is okay, because I have a strong God… and so do you.

“If I must boast, I will boast about the things that show my weakness.”– 2 Corinthians 11:30

“I am strong in the Lord in the power of His might.”– Ephesians 6:10

“God gives power to the weak. And to those who have no might, He increases their strength.”- Isaiah 40:29

“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”– Philippians 4:13